KDFWR Looking for big bass for hatcheries

[peter]

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is looking for a few good bass.
Not just any largemouth bass, however. The hunt is on for the wall-hanging, line-busting fish that anglers in the local tackle shop will talk about for years.
The reason is simple: Big bass produce big bass. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife wants anglers to donate their live trophy bass so the department’s hatcheries can use them to produce new generations of oversized fish. In return, anglers will receive a replica mount of their bass.
“I wanted to figure out how we could do a better job of propagating larger bass in Kentucky,” said department Fisheries Director Ron Brooks. “So this kind of program just makes sense. People have been breeding animals forever to optimize the size of the animal, so why not do this with largemouth bass?”
Anglers for years have lobbied for Kentucky to stock the jumbo-sized Florida strain largemouth bass in the state’s waters. However, Kentucky doesn’t have the same kind of climate as Florida, so that variety of bass would not do as well here.
“If we had the same kind of year-round temperatures as Florida, then we’d be stocking Florida-strain bass,” Brooks said.
The best alternative is spawning native fish with proven genetics to grow big. Kentucky’s program will only accept female bass weighing more than 8 pounds, and male bass weighing more than 6 pounds. Fish this size generally exceed 22 inches in length.
Anglers wishing to participate should take their trophy bass to a participating bait shop, where employees will hold fish in aerated bait tanks until a Kentucky Fish and Wildlife employee can pick up the bass and take it to a hatchery.
“We don’t want anglers to leave their trophy bass in a livewell or keep it a fish basket on the bank for an extended period of time, because we don’t want the fish to succumb to stress,” Brooks said. “We’re asking people to handle these fish with kid gloves and bring them to a participating bait shop as soon as possible.”
After the bass spawn, hatcheries will raise young fish until they reach 5 inches long. Then employees will stock the bass in lakes around the state, including the lakes where the parent fish were originally caught.
“This won’t mean that every largemouth bass spawning in Kentucky will have trophy bass genes,” Brooks said. “That would be a long way off. But in the immediate future, it will mean the fish we’re stocking to augment the natural spawning will be a higher quality of fish as far as growth potential.”

[GeoFisher]

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is looking for a few good bass.
Not just any largemouth bass, however. The hunt is on for the wall-hanging, line-busting fish that anglers in the local tackle shop will talk about for years.
The reason is simple: Big bass produce big bass. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife wants anglers to donate their live trophy bass so the department’s hatcheries can use them to produce new generations of oversized fish. In return, anglers will receive a replica mount of their bass.
“I wanted to figure out how we could do a better job of propagating larger bass in Kentucky,” said department Fisheries Director Ron Brooks. “So this kind of program just makes sense. People have been breeding animals forever to optimize the size of the animal, so why not do this with largemouth bass?”
Anglers for years have lobbied for Kentucky to stock the jumbo-sized Florida strain largemouth bass in the state’s waters. However, Kentucky doesn’t have the same kind of climate as Florida, so that variety of bass would not do as well here.
“If we had the same kind of year-round temperatures as Florida, then we’d be stocking Florida-strain bass,” Brooks said.
The best alternative is spawning native fish with proven genetics to grow big. Kentucky’s program will only accept female bass weighing more than 8 pounds, and male bass weighing more than 6 pounds. Fish this size generally exceed 22 inches in length.
Anglers wishing to participate should take their trophy bass to a participating bait shop, where employees will hold fish in aerated bait tanks until a Kentucky Fish and Wildlife employee can pick up the bass and take it to a hatchery.
“We don’t want anglers to leave their trophy bass in a livewell or keep it a fish basket on the bank for an extended period of time, because we don’t want the fish to succumb to stress,” Brooks said. “We’re asking people to handle these fish with kid gloves and bring them to a participating bait shop as soon as possible.”
After the bass spawn, hatcheries will raise young fish until they reach 5 inches long. Then employees will stock the bass in lakes around the state, including the lakes where the parent fish were originally caught.
“This won’t mean that every largemouth bass spawning in Kentucky will have trophy bass genes,” Brooks said. “That would be a long way off. But in the immediate future, it will mean the fish we’re stocking to augment the natural spawning will be a higher quality of fish as far as growth potential.”

HM.........

I think I like the idea........Opinions folks. Keep it civil.

[Dave Stewart]

I have wondered for years why KDFWR did not do this. They have had this program going in Texas for a loooong time. Now, we just need a list of participating tackle shops.

[Wormin]

Well every time you turn around some one is telling you they shocked up a state record fish in such and such lake. If it is truly the case those our the fish they should be taking. And not some fish that already had 100 selfey with and treated who know how. Not good for the fish. They have the means and are better equipped so they should just do it.I just hate to see a lot of good fish die waiting on some one to pick them up.

[bassin bruce]

I think KY should have had this program for about the 20 years Texas has been doing this. But KDFW has been doing important things like stocking Hybrids in lakes where they overrun the bass populations.

[cpsniper05]

Well every time you turn around some one is telling you they shocked up a state record fish in such and such lake. If it is truly the case those our the fish they should be taking. And not some fish that already had 100 selfey with and treated who know how. Not good for the fish. They have the means and are better equipped so they should just do it.I just hate to see a lot of good fish die waiting on some one to pick them up.

Most of these fish would probably die anyways waiting to go on a wall. At least they have a chance to be better served with this program. The idiots that catch a fish that would qualify probably wont know about this program anyways. I like the idea and only hope I can catch an 8lber.

[GeoFisher]

I have wondered for years why KDFWR did not do this. They have had this program going in Texas for a loooong time. Now, we just need a list of participating tackle shops.

I would probably keep a solid trophy now ........I honestly have not thought about pulling a biggun from the lake and putting on my wall, but if I can catch a giant, and donate to science , AND keep it alive.......win win.

Later,

Geo

[MagikSmallie]

I have wondered for years why KDFWR did not do this. They have had this program going in Texas for a loooong time. Now, we just need a list of participating tackle shops.

The Share Lunker program in TX has been a huge success, of course their idea of a lunker and KY's is a bit different LOL. But I have seen the program in full effect on Lake Fork and it simply works.

[SLP]

Well every time you turn around some one is telling you they shocked up a state record fish in such and such lake. If it is truly the case those our the fish they should be taking. And not some fish that already had 100 selfey with and treated who know how. Not good for the fish. They have the means and are better equipped so they should just do it.I just hate to see a lot of good fish die waiting on some one to pick them up.

You make a great point about utilizing shocking to do this. It sure seems like logically that shocking would be more efficient. Not only for the reasons you mention but also because they could control specifically which lake to draw the large fish from. There has to be some cases where it would be preferred to keep the larger fish in that particular waters where it would continue to breed naturally.

[kc]

I am kind of torn on this one. I think the idea is great but I don't like the thought of promoting the removal of these trophy fish from the lakes. I am sure some of these fish will be taken for a mount or heaven forbid a show-n-tell then kill session but to me these trophy fish are the most scarce and most precious of the fishery resource. Whenever I catch a large bass it is CPR'd (caught, photographed, released) so that it can continue on its journey and become even a larger specimen and spawn again in its own lake. Maybe the best answer is with the shocking of the fish but not removing the fish from the lake. Is it my imagination or have I not seen where the eggs / sperm can be extracted from the fish while on the water? Why can't they shock up some of these trophy fish, remove their spawning materials and then return the fish to the lake? That will take out that year's spawn for those fish but they live on to possibly thrill an angler and spawn next time around. The only downside to that thought is by their scarcity it may be difficult and time consuming to find the trophy fish this way...

kc

[dabassking]

Like many people have said, Texas is proof that this kind of program works with its Share Lunker Program. I think some of you all have made good points about how relying on the fishermen to take care of the fish during transport is sketchy and that the state should just shock them up to keep them healthier, but I think if they did that, more people would get upset that the state is taking trophy fish out of lakes without giving people the chance to catch them. Also, the state would have to use a lot of resources to shock up a decent amount of trophy fish. Let them work on other things and have the fish be brought to them.

[Wormin]

I love catching big fish,anything short of a new state record it CPR as fast as possible. Let say you put the boat in at first light and that 8lb fish nail your buzzbait right off are going to load the boat and take the fish to the bait shop probably not your going to fish another 4 to6 hrs now a fish that size in a live well is not going to do well. And what if you get to the bait shop and there closed I just see alot of good fish being killed by people trying to do a good thing as if they do it they have complete control over all the variables.