It's common knowledge about the survival rate.....just a $ issue for TPW.....needs a forensic accountant to go through the numbers but I'd rather they stock 1000 12" fish than 100000 fry when they stock

That government cove launch is sweeeet!

Thanks again Tommar

I have never really thought about doing it this way but it looks on the surface as a great idea. This helps both sides as long as no disease fish get through or bad weeds. I would think they should get a little payment to help pay for growing and catching to transport to new lake should be down. This would save TPWD a little money over the years and may increase the chance for survivor of the bass and get good blood lines into the lakes.This is very interesting to say the least.

This is just awesome! Would love to see this on a larger scaled with other private lakes around the state to benefit our other reservoirs.

Cool idea. Hopefully a few freak fish grow to giant size out of this. Of course if the lake would just fill back up you would be seeing fishing returning to what it was a few years ago.

So these fish are what a year old maybe 2. How big do you think they will be? Just want to see how productive La Perla is.

Those laws are in effect to prevent the willy nilly movement of fish in public waters all over the state by you and me, JoeQPublic. Remember, you can move fish from public to private, too.

TPWD isn't JoeQ. They're involved with Dr. Schwartz on his La Perla project and you can bet no invasives will be making this trip. These PAW fisheries management guys are the best in the world, when left to their own devices.

Very cool. Awesome idea. Gary is a great guy trying to do great things. I'm pretty sure he's removing all those fish via electroshock. The nice thing about this method is that it keeps fishing pressure low on La Perla.

Hey guys thanks for all the nice comments. It sure is a heck of a lot easier to read than it was the first time!
The people at TPWD have been just a delight to work with, in taking this dream of mine to cull Jalisco to the benefit of Falcon, and making it happen. Government wheels don't turn fast, and often they don't turn at all, but these guys got it done. James Bendele at Falcon Tackle and Falcon Lake Biologist Randy Myers also deserve a huge pat on the back because it would not have happened had they not been in strong support of the plan.

Our goal is to shock up and transfer all bass under 16 or perhaps even 17 inches, so many of the fish will be over 2 pounds. We think we can get a thousand fish or more done, and hopefully this will be the first of an annual effort. Can you imagine what it could mean if we could send 1-2,000 Sharealunker adult bass a year to Falcon for 10 years or more!

So far the genes have stayed pure now for the 3 years they have been there, much to the surprise and joy of the SAL folks. Apparently this is the longest time any contract Lake has stayed pure, making it essentially the largest SAL Breeding facility in the State.

The fish themselves got off to a slow start since the lake was still under construction when the fry arrived, but they have since turned a flip. Few of them made it to a pound after year one, but by year two, we had lots of fish pushing 4 pounds. We were not prepared however for what happened in January 2017 when we shocked up two bass a shade over 8 pounds! Those bass at the time were only 2.7 years old!
I can't wait to see where we are now, 3 years into it, post spawn.

Thx again to all for all of the kindness shown, and Fouz thanks to you for carrying the ball with James' report to the Forum. You supported me even from the beginning, so thank you. Hopefully your trust and faith in what we are doing at La Perla with our partners at TPWD is about to pay off with its first installment.

Gary M Schwarz

I am glad to see you giving back to Falcon like this. I can see 1,000 - 2,000 adult Florida bass per year actually making an impact on the number of big fish in Falcon. We all know that lake can grow them.

Great stuff Doc! Thanks for everything you do for Texas fish and game.

If anyone hits the lottery and wants to take a trip to La Perla with a poor sap from Texarkana, please send me a PM. I would be more than willing to serve as your personal assistant during the trip. Some of the things I'm willing to do:

1. Re-tie your line after catching a monster
2. Take all pictures
3. Net your catch of a lifetime
4. Pretty much, anything you need during the day while we are enjoying the trip

I can tell jokes, tell stories, or keep my mouth shut. Whatever you prefer.

Get in line buddy.