Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Creating the food chain Question on Bass

Eastland, not sure what you are disagreeing with. Maybe I didn't adequately explain myself.

Let me explain where I'm coming from. Actually, I got the idea from Ewest's research that he provided at D/FW regarding approximately 50% genetic disposition to bite or not to bite. I then took your LMB stocking plan as a possible indicator of a better way to do things. While the rest of us stocked small hatchery raised fish and let them "grow up" in the pond, you did it differently and caught bass from local lakes to start your bass population from bass that had proven the tendency to bite. You selected the best of the bunch. You've never indicated any problem with hook shy bass and most of us have. I consider that a possible leading indicator.

OK, maybe you're a better fisherman than me. However, I doubt that you are a better fisherman than all of us, all the time. In addition to taking a good look at just what you were stocking, you also avoided the bass that were genetically disposed against biting. I know that it sounds like I'm saying "It's not my fault. I just have lousy fish." Maybe so but a lot of us have reported the same problem.

Think about it. How do any of us know that hatchery raised fish will meet our goals? I'm not aware of any testing, other than for research purposes, as to whether we will be able to consistently catch hatchery started fish. I've talked to fish stockers who have indicated that some of the "pure strain Floridas" they have bought from hatcheries didn't pass that genetic test when random samples were sent to TAMU for analysis. I have asked the guys on the fish truck, on several occasions, whether the bass were F-1's. The answer has always been yes. How do I know and what would have been the answer had I posed the question differently?

I've stocked bass from bass heavy ponds and they did bite and "encouraged" existing pond bass to bite. However, those from the other ponds have never seen 2 days in a row when they didn't have to hustle for food. I expect them to keep biting for awhile but can't consider this an indicator for the future. I do expect they are native bass that are easier to catch than Florida strain.

The bottom line? No way I would start out with fish from a cast net in a bass heavy pond and have great expectations for the future. I would much rather have small known bass from your pond than from a hatchery. I'm not slamming hatcheries but I would be more comfortable hearing about their customers experiences regarding ongoing catchability. I would really love to buy from a hatchery that had done this testing but doubt that it would be economically feasible for them.