Well isn't it just nice to see state resources used to enhance a private fishery. On contract no doubt.

Jealousy is a b-tch in America, if more Americans would be innovative we'd get out of this 6 year slump!

BTW, I am by no means against LaPerla, Camelot Bell, or any other private land owner who wants to stock a private lake and charge whatever they can from people who want to fish it. I hope they are successful!
I am against using public funds from us as taxpayers, which I pay a lot, and revenue from fishing license holders to fund the stocking of Florida strain bass into public waters, then turning around and selling the offspring of those fish to a private landowner who will charge a fee to catch those offspring. Whether they donate fish back or not is irrelevant. Why buy SAL offspring? If your private system is so good, use your own offspring or buy from another private land owner. Im sure Camelot Bell would be interested in selling some offspring. They already have 15 lb + bass swimming around in their lake.
I have always been a promotor of the SAL program. I will not be a supporter if this type of business practice continues!

Why are so many people on the site so negative?

Hopefully when they get a few years of data gathered, it is made public. I would love to know the growth rates of these fish with their superior genetics and their management principles.

Low water and heat probably. Its like cabin fever in reverse I guess. Some of it is innocent questions and some of it is the same old, same old.

This is to everyone that is so against TPWD selling the SAL fry to La Perla ranch.... Im not sure how many fry are produced every year through the program but i would like to know how many fry La Perla will be receiving in relation to that number? Im sure someone can take the time to figure that out but I would be willing to bet there is plenty of fry to go around. Perhaps I am wrong though.

Regardless, I am glad to get an update on La Perla. Keep it coming!

I think a few are jumping to conclusions here. No one posted the details of the contract and what it covers. Lots of assumptions here as far as what is going on. I hope the owners post some more and include a few more details if they can before I choose a side. Lots of scenarios may be going on to require a contract and not all are bad.

and a lot of it is sarcasm

Do you think they will really come out and say "we tried but these fish don't grow any faster"? That won't happen. In the Lufkin article that biologist said this will show if improved forage base will grow larger fish. Well duh you idiot, more food equals healthier, bigger fish. A few sentences later he then says this lake will do good because of the improved forage base for bigger bass. So why in the heck are we not improving public waters? I'm ok with trying for a world record but don't give dumb excuses for why these fish and efforts aren't going into public waters. And who thinks nobody will fish this for 15 years? You know they won't wait to see what's there. Heck, what are they going to do if the man wants to fish HIS lake, take it? Na

I think it's good, they get some revenue in which they can spend the money on the program.

At the same time they can compare side by side if you will growth rates and size distribution from two different programs with similar genetics, and could possibly lead to some better genetics in the future for sal program and lake management techniques that could trickle down to public lake level.

Sure not all of the things they do would be feasible for a public reservoir but some information could be useful.

It almost seams like we are in a backwards trend over the last decade as far as true trophy sized fish are going.

Sure every now and then a giant is caught somewhere but for the most part it seems like most fish are stuck under 15lbs. When was the last time a 16+ was recorded in any kind of frequency?

The 90's were a glorious time for Bass fishing in general, look at all the lakes that kicked out giants in that time frame, we need something to bring fresh blood into the program and this might be it??

In my opinion it just shows how desperate the state is since they can't figure out how to grow a state (or world) record on their own. The whole program is a flop.

I'd rather see the LaPerla accomplish this on their own and I think they had a better chance before they got involved with the states SAL.

Mark, there was a post in this thread to a Dallas news story that had a few details I found to be very interesting. One of which is that NO ONE can fish Lake Jalisco for the next 15 years! That is a long time to privately own a premier fishery, invest a whole lot of money, and not receive a dime of income from it. Dr. Schwarz is taking on a massive project here, and he's spending his money to try to put Texas in the record books. According to the article, he received 7,404 fry.

I don't personally have an issue with it. Largely because he is dedicated to giving at least one fish back to the program. Could be viewed like a loan. TPWD gives him some now, he gives some back later. Just expedites the process for us to find out if his plan will work. And I'm optimistic!

If everyone is really interested in the terms of the contract, send TPWD an open records request. I'm sure they will be happy to provide a copy.

Alex, I don't believe your misstatement was intentional, but just to clarify, both articles stated he received approximately 7,400 fry, which is a few thousand, not a few HUNDRED thousand. There is enough rampant speculation in this thread already. A misstatement of the few available facts will likely only add to the criticism of a situation only a limited number of people know the actual facts of.

Sorry about that. I fixed it a few minutes ago. Probably while you were typing.