Providing Enhanced Protection for Blue Catfish at Truman Reservoir and Lake of the Ozarks MO

Concerns regarding high fishing pressure and harvest of blue catfish from Truman Reservoir and Lake of the Ozarks began in the early 1990s with subsequent concerns about the decline in the number of large blue catfish being caught by anglers.  Included in the Missouri Statewide Catfish Management Plan, finalized in 2003, is a primary objective to implement new regulations, based on sampling and creel data, to protect large catfishes in Truman Reservoir and Lake of the Ozarks.  A reward tag study (2004-2008) documented very high harvest rates of blue catfish at Truman Reservoir with a mean annual corrected exploitation rate of 39.4% for blue catfish ≥610 mm total length.  In 2010, we initiated a three-year evaluation using jug lines to sample blue catfish at both reservoirs and collect size structure, age and growth information.  Jug lines are a common angling method at both reservoirs and were chosen to best represent angler catch of blue catfish.  Preliminary results reveal the average size blue catfish caught is small at both reservoirs.  To achieve the objective outlined in the Statewide Catfish Management Plan, special regulations were put into place March 1, 2014 to increase the number of large blue catfish in both reservoirs