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Abstract
Long-term monitoring is critical when looking at sportfish populations. Largemouth Bass are a highly desired sport fishery in the state of Georgia which may be under threat by Spotted Bass, Alabama Bass, and their hybrids. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GADNR) has been monitoring the reservoirs within the state for over 30 years. We examine size and catch data of Largemouth Bass, provided by the GADNR, to compare reservoirs with low and high catches of Alabama Bass and Spotted Bass. No biological differences in size metrics were detected but Proportional Stock Density (PSD) across years indicated a barrier for Largemouth Bass to reach upper size limits that seemed to be unrelated to the non-native bass species. There were significant differences in predicted catch and the variability of the predicted catch data in low and high catch reservoirs. Spotted Bass and Alabama Bass seem to be a threat to the Largemouth Bass fishery but only in terms of relative abundance. Further reservoirs should be examined to provide more evidence for these conclusions