A new article in Aquatic Conservation from the Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory at Carleton University reports on research funded by the RLEF (Dusevic et al., 2024). Fish sanctuaries on Big Rideau Lake and two neighbouring lakes benefit a much wider range of wildlife than they were designed to protect. …
RLEF has been supporting research on lake fish populations, including that Dr. David Philipp and Dr. Steve Cooke for some time. Studies have shown that the Bass populations in Big and Upper Rideau Lakes was declining over time due to preseason catch and release fishing taking male bass away from their nests. Fisheries Conservation Foundation (FCF) is working on a…
December 2025 Dear Lake Friends and Neighbours, As the year winds down and the snow settles on the lake, it’s time to pause and reflect on the value of this special place to our own well-being and that of our families. Time at the lake allows us to reflect and reconnect. We rely on a healthy lake environment for our…
Here is an update on getting a larger, new Bass Spawning Sanctuary Study up and running in the expanded group of bass lakes that make up our Coalition for Innovative Fisheries Conservation (CIFC). That all said, it became very clear that the study as we envision it, cannot get started until spring of 2027. Even if we could have had…
From Dr. David Philipp, October 2025 Largemouth and smallmouth bass (LMB and SMB) have a complex life history in which males of both species are entirely responsible for building nests, courting females for spawning, and then once fertilized eggs are in their nests, solely providing extended parental care of the resulting offspring for another 4-6 weeks post-fertilization (Ridgeway 1988). That…
RLEF activities are featured in an article in the Westport Review-Mirror, September 18, 2025…
There’s a new “live” report up on Facebook from researchers at Carleton University, reporting on survey of showing a bass on a nest, and talking about ideal temperatures for bass spawning from May 2025. Hook wounds are a real indication of angling pressures.
Did you know that even with “Catch and Release” taking a bass off his nest will likely result in the death of his brood? Bass spawning sanctuaries have proven successful in ensuring the survival of young by preventing all fishing in sensitive areas while fish are spawning. The Fisheries Conservation Foundation is exploring Innovative Solutions for Large mouth and Smallmouth…
RLEF President Hansen Downer was interviewed on 88.1 myFM (previously Lake 88.1) about Bass Spawning Sanctuaries. Listen to the recording.
The expansion of Bass Spawning Sanctuaries (BaSS) will help regenerate the declining bass populations in our lakes. BaSSs are areas of the lake in which all fishing is prohibited but only until the first week of July. Angling in BaSSs is permitted during the rest of the year. The Fisheries Conservation Foundation is leading a local effort to expand BaSSs…