#18 || Dr. David Philipp: A Once in a Lifetime Smallmouth Bass Discovery

Dr. David Philipp is renowned for his work with smallmouth bass - especially their reproductive ecology. But the Director of the Fisheries Genetics Lab at the Illinois Natural History Society, adjunct professor at the University of Illinois and Chair of the Fisheries Conservation Foundation encountered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity on Opinicon Lake, in southeastern Ontario, when Covid rules closed access to the fish during the spawning season. How the bass responded has not only shocked the science community, it has led to an experimental management project that may show us how to manage for more and bigger bass in the future. Listen in, as David explains to Gord and Liam, how the good old days may be right around the corner.