Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Florida Bass and Climate Change

Maybe there needs to be some rethinking of how far north Florida Bass can be stocked. Let's face it the winters are warmer, here in Indiana we had ice for 4 days that's it. The no florida bass north of I-40 seems like a 1950s false narrative to me. Just saying.

It just takes one person to try it.

Is that you, Spicelanbass??

The test is NOT one mild winter.

The test is will you have zero brutally cold winters from the time you stock the Florida Bass until the year you are going to harvest them?

Further, even if your Florida Bass survive, will they thrive?

However, I agree with Sunil - nothing beats experimental data!

Two of the last three winters my pond in the Middle of Misery was under ice for 8 weeks straight. Don't confuse climate with weather.

***Anecdotal information follows***

One of the first, if not THE first, ponds/lakes in Misery to be stocked with FL strain LMB was a 40 acre impoundment that was located
right across the east fence from my grandparents' farm. The pond was built/stocked by a gentleman who owned a large electrical
equipment supply house. I was born in 1963 and the lake was built sometime before that.

It was a pay lake but I got to fish it quite a bit when I was a kid because the owner was buddies with my GrandPap. It was the best
bass lake in the area at that time. I started fishing it again in the '90s as a paid member. It was still the best bass lake in the area.
The lake had a fantastic BG population and was also stocked with gizzard shad. 90% of the time there was no need to ever beat
the banks like bass guys tend to do. Go out in the middle and sit until the splashing started then try to get close to the ruckus before
it was over was the best way to go about it.

Then the owner passed away, the property around the lake was purchased by the city and turned into a park. They had to draw the
lake down in order to make repairs to the dam and the city guys along with the dirt guys they hired raped the place. Now it's not
worth driving ten miles to fish there.

I acknowledge that it's a small sample size, but the FL strain fish thrived here, five miles south of I-70 for many years.
Long before anyone had ever heard of "global warming" or "climate change".

Even leaving the weather or climate out of it, try it if you want. Worst thing that could happen is some fish die and you're out a few bucks.

But, on the other hand, it could be magic....

Augie,

Sorry you lost your good fishing hole.

Was that lake stocked with Florida bass AND Northern LMB, or only stocked with Floridas?

If stocked with both, do you think you could tell them apart when you caught them?

I can't say either way. I know that my GrandPap (he was a very conservative - tightwad, if you will - farmer), thought that his
neighbor was crazy for spending the money to have fish hauled in from Florida when he could have called Ye Olde Fish Truck and
gotten them for pennies by comparison.

It will remain forever a mystery. Everyone who would have known the answer with certainty is dead.

I know the internet helps connect us to people that have knowledge on almost any topic under the sun.

How great would it be if we all had a means to connect to all of knowledge of our wise ancestors that is now lost?

Here is a link to info on the subject (in the first part of the thread) and other links. To my knowledge the science behind these studies has not changed even though we might wish it was.

https://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthre...Words=florida&Search=true#Post550783