World record bass - 05/23/07 07:59 PM
Intersted read - Dallas Morning News
by Ray Sasser:
May 19, 2007
Bigger, better bass
Texas Parks and Wildlife fisheries biologists got good news this spring when they sampled small bass at Purtis Creek State Park Lake, Tarrant County's Marine Creek and Pinkston Lake, near Center. Those three small lakes represent half of the waters stocked last fall with fish from TP&W's World Record Bass project.
WRBs are offspring from Budweiser ShareLunkers. By crossing big female bass caught each year with male bass descended from a previous lunker, the state agency is hoping to plant the seeds that grow into a future 20-pounder.
The Texas largemouth bass record has been stuck on 18.18 pounds since 1992. In fact, the biggest fish reported since weighed 16.8 pounds and was caught in 1997. Since the turn of the century, only one top-20 Texas largemouth has been reported.
Biologists are hoping to get the big bass ball – the monster ball – rolling again with the WRB project. Last year, they stocked 25 WRB fish per acre into six small lakes. In addition to Purtis Creek, Marine Creek and Pinkston, the fish were stocked into Lake Raven at Huntsville State Park, Meridian State Park Lake and Mill Creek Lake near Canton.
As you might expect, WRB fish are considerably more valuable than run-of-the mill hatchery-spawned largemouths that are stocked on a routine basis. In an effort to increase survivability of the WRBs, the master race of bigmouths was stocked at six to 12 inches.
Most bass stockings feature fish that are much smaller and many of them wind up as expensive fish food for the existing predator population. When biologists sampled young bass at Pinkston this spring, they found that 8 percent of the 2006 year class were fish from the WRB stocking. The hatchery fish are equipped with wire tags that make them readily identifiable.
"I was very excited about the 8 percent number until we checked Purtis Creek and Marine Creek," said Bill Provine, TP&W's deputy freshwater fisheries director. "At Purtis Creek, the WRB stocking represented 30 percent of the year class. At Marine Creek, we found more WRBs than wild-spawned bass."
Provine was excited to find that just one stocking of potential world beaters could have such a significant impact on an existing fish population. The exploratory stockings are being done in small lakes so their impact can be more easily monitored.
"We have two objectives with the WRB program," Provine said. "One is to create a fish with the potential to reach the maximum size possible. Objective two is to stock fish that can reach trophy size in five years. In the meantime, we may have learned a valuable lesson about how to stock bass in order for them to have the most impact on an existing population."
The whole Florida-strain bass program has been a learning experience. It's been accepted all along that Florida-strain bass have the genetic potential to grow larger than native bass. In the 1980s, Texas biologists concluded that the Florida bass were harder to catch. They came to that conclusion based on carefully recorded fishing success for small bass in small hatchery ponds.
An equal number of 12-inch native bass and 12-inch Florida bass were released in the pond. Biologists cast lures to the fish, noting that the native bass were caught more frequently than Floridas. Ergo Florida bass are harder to catch.
"We didn't pay enough attention to the scope of that study," Provine said. "What we now know is that native bass grow faster than Florida bass during their first two years. Bass that grow faster naturally eat more and are more aggressive feeders. The native bass weren't easier to catch – they were hungrier because of the growth rate."
After two years, the tables turn, and Florida bass grow much faster than native bass. The Florida bass growth spiral continues for years. Adult Florida bass are easier to catch than adult native bass. That's because of growth rates and the necessity to eat. It has nothing to do with native intelligence or reaction to weather changes.
Provine knows adult Floridas are easier to catch because catch rates reported by anglers are highest at lakes such as Falcon, Amistad and Choke Canyon. Bass in those lakes have a very high percentage of Florida genes. The catch rate at Falcon is almost three times higher than the Texas average.
It will be at least four years before biologists know if the WRB project can successfully produce trophy fish in five years. It may be nine years before they know whether big bass can be bred like big deer.
In the meantime, they're learning more about Florida bass in general and bass stocking techniques in particular. Many important scientific discoveries are uncovered by accident.
rsasser@dallasnews.com
by Ray Sasser:
May 19, 2007
Bigger, better bass
Texas Parks and Wildlife fisheries biologists got good news this spring when they sampled small bass at Purtis Creek State Park Lake, Tarrant County's Marine Creek and Pinkston Lake, near Center. Those three small lakes represent half of the waters stocked last fall with fish from TP&W's World Record Bass project.
WRBs are offspring from Budweiser ShareLunkers. By crossing big female bass caught each year with male bass descended from a previous lunker, the state agency is hoping to plant the seeds that grow into a future 20-pounder.
The Texas largemouth bass record has been stuck on 18.18 pounds since 1992. In fact, the biggest fish reported since weighed 16.8 pounds and was caught in 1997. Since the turn of the century, only one top-20 Texas largemouth has been reported.
Biologists are hoping to get the big bass ball – the monster ball – rolling again with the WRB project. Last year, they stocked 25 WRB fish per acre into six small lakes. In addition to Purtis Creek, Marine Creek and Pinkston, the fish were stocked into Lake Raven at Huntsville State Park, Meridian State Park Lake and Mill Creek Lake near Canton.
As you might expect, WRB fish are considerably more valuable than run-of-the mill hatchery-spawned largemouths that are stocked on a routine basis. In an effort to increase survivability of the WRBs, the master race of bigmouths was stocked at six to 12 inches.
Most bass stockings feature fish that are much smaller and many of them wind up as expensive fish food for the existing predator population. When biologists sampled young bass at Pinkston this spring, they found that 8 percent of the 2006 year class were fish from the WRB stocking. The hatchery fish are equipped with wire tags that make them readily identifiable.
"I was very excited about the 8 percent number until we checked Purtis Creek and Marine Creek," said Bill Provine, TP&W's deputy freshwater fisheries director. "At Purtis Creek, the WRB stocking represented 30 percent of the year class. At Marine Creek, we found more WRBs than wild-spawned bass."
Provine was excited to find that just one stocking of potential world beaters could have such a significant impact on an existing fish population. The exploratory stockings are being done in small lakes so their impact can be more easily monitored.
"We have two objectives with the WRB program," Provine said. "One is to create a fish with the potential to reach the maximum size possible. Objective two is to stock fish that can reach trophy size in five years. In the meantime, we may have learned a valuable lesson about how to stock bass in order for them to have the most impact on an existing population."
The whole Florida-strain bass program has been a learning experience. It's been accepted all along that Florida-strain bass have the genetic potential to grow larger than native bass. In the 1980s, Texas biologists concluded that the Florida bass were harder to catch. They came to that conclusion based on carefully recorded fishing success for small bass in small hatchery ponds.
An equal number of 12-inch native bass and 12-inch Florida bass were released in the pond. Biologists cast lures to the fish, noting that the native bass were caught more frequently than Floridas. Ergo Florida bass are harder to catch.
"We didn't pay enough attention to the scope of that study," Provine said. "What we now know is that native bass grow faster than Florida bass during their first two years. Bass that grow faster naturally eat more and are more aggressive feeders. The native bass weren't easier to catch – they were hungrier because of the growth rate."
After two years, the tables turn, and Florida bass grow much faster than native bass. The Florida bass growth spiral continues for years. Adult Florida bass are easier to catch than adult native bass. That's because of growth rates and the necessity to eat. It has nothing to do with native intelligence or reaction to weather changes.
Provine knows adult Floridas are easier to catch because catch rates reported by anglers are highest at lakes such as Falcon, Amistad and Choke Canyon. Bass in those lakes have a very high percentage of Florida genes. The catch rate at Falcon is almost three times higher than the Texas average.
It will be at least four years before biologists know if the WRB project can successfully produce trophy fish in five years. It may be nine years before they know whether big bass can be bred like big deer.
In the meantime, they're learning more about Florida bass in general and bass stocking techniques in particular. Many important scientific discoveries are uncovered by accident.
rsasser@dallasnews.com