Is natural bait type a stochastic process for size and condition of fishes in the recreational fishery of Izmir Bay?

Determining bait type might be one of the most important factors that influence the amount and size of the fish catch in marine recreational fishery. To this end, the relationships between two types of natural bait and catch per unit effort (CPUE), yield per unit effort (YPUE), fish size and condition (K=W/TL3 *100) were evaluated in the recreational fishery of Izmir Bay (Middle Eastern Aegean Sea, Turkey). The most abundant angling species on Turkish coasts: annular sea bream (Diplodus annularis), blotched picarel (Spicara flexuosa), two-banded sea bream (Diplodus vulgaris) and bogue (Boops boops) were collected by anglers between September 2006 February 2007 using as baits onyx (Solen vagina) and sardine (Sardina pilchardus). The average CPUE and YPUE of hooks baited with onyx were significantly higher than hooks that were baited with sardine. Eventhough the averages of specimens caught with sardine bait were larger than those with onyx, except for bogue, total length-frequency distributions revealed some differences only for annular sea bream and blotched picarel between the two baits. High conditioned individuals of bogue were caught with sardine bait and the rest of the other species with onyx.