Stock only adult LMB - it lessens the risk associated with the #s game of reproduction and first year mortality. Even the experts who have tried female only have had issues. It only takes 1 mistake. FYI only half of FLMB get big (females) as males tend to be small. Studies provide that high % FLMB still get as big but do not have the same catchability issues. Lots here on the subject.

Subscribe to PB mag !!! Here is some info from a Cutting Edge article from a few years ago.

"Another recent study titled Subspecies Composition of Angled and Electrofished Largemouth Bass in Texas Reservoirs, Dijar J. Lutz-Carrillo, and Spencer Dumont in Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Southeast Association of Fish and Wildlife. Agencies 66:75–81, 2012 Proc.., addresses in part this type of question.

The study’s results provide biologists with a provocative concept that, in southern waters (natural integrated zone of FLMB and NLMB), FLMB likely are more difficult to angle than NLMB, but the phenotype (genetic trait) of reduced angler susceptibility (catchability) is mitigated (reduced) by introgression (genetic mixing), even at low levels of NLMB genes.

While many factors may function concurrently to determine angling susceptibility, including fishing pressure, naivety of individual fish, learned lure avoidance, and stress from catch and release , we now know that catchability is a genetic and heritable trait as was previously discussed in earlier Cutting Edge articles ( see Garrett (2002) and Philipp et al. (2009) ).
Even when there were roughly twice as many NLMB in the survey as FLMB the cross population showed almost 50% Florida genetics. In one instance where there was roughly 15 times the number of NLMB as FLMB the cross population showed 29% Florida genetics. The number of crosses in the tests far outnumbered either FLMB or NLMB. So under these conditions in Texas waters over time the FLMB genetics tend to dominate. This does not mean every FLMB trait is dominant. Note that when pure FLMB were removed from the dataset numbers (leaving only crosses with high levels of FLMB genetic influence) the trait of reduced catchability greatly dissipated. Stated differently the addition of only a small amount of NLMB genetics caused poor catchability to become much less pronounced.
In addition I recall TPWD data also showing many of the share-a-lunker fish were high FLMB percentage crosses. So at low rates the NLMB genes don’t seem to reduce growth and size in the crosses."

Last edited by ewest; 06/18/25 12:29 PM.