Bass anglers frequently ask why the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission doesn't stock bass more aggressively in our lakes and rivers.
Jason Olive, assistant chief of the commission's fisheries division, explained the agency's policy during the commission's monthly work meeting on Oct. 20. Commission members are avid bass anglers, and they listened raptly to Olive's presentation.
"There are three reasons why we stock bass," Olive said. "We do it to increase the trophy potential of body of water, to supplement poor reproduction in degraded habitat, and to create a new fishery after a renovation."
Just as important are the wrong reasons to stock bass, Olive said. Chief among the wrong reasons is stocking bass to increase bass numbers.
"That is a bad reason because it doesn't work," Olive said. "People ask us all the time, 'Why can't you just add some more?' The reason is carrying capacity. There's only so much food, and only a small percentage of bass make it to their first birthday."
On a statewide scale, commission fish hatcheries can't begin to compete with natural production on just one lake.
"One-hundred and thirty, three-pound female bass will outproduce every bass hatchery in America," Olive said. "Bass spawn every year. There are years when very few young reach their first birthday. The Corps [of Engineers] might drop the water level. Weather is a factor. There are all kinds of factors."
FULL STORY https://newstral.com/en/article/en/1208 ... stock-bass
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