Ken, I know your company has paid some mighty big $$$ to entertain clients at Lake X. I wonder if TPWD will be able to sell trips to Jalisco while Dr. Schwarz will not be able to? Or is it going to be no fishing pressure, period? Perhaps TPWD learned through the Luminant project and the other 6 lakes that the only way to grow the WW LMB is through intensive forage management and -0- fishing pressure?

There is nothing that would make me prouder than to see Texas produce a legit world record largemouth bass - from public or private waters. Many well intended folks have tried through the decades and haven't come close. I respect Dr. Scwatz and others for their efforts but a 13.9 pound bass is not even close. Personally, I believe the heat of the region will work against La Perla even though they have an all they can eat shrimp cocktail buffet. It will take more than ultra deep pockets.

I believe the ONLY reason the bass in California grow to such mammoth proportions is the mild climate and trout. I don't believe a bass will live long enough to get big enough to make world record weight in 90+ degree water temps for several months every year.

Camelot Bell has produced numerous fish over 15# but they are not even close either in my opinion. Guys, a 17# bass is as rare as moon-rock. A 22# bass is more like the Unobtainium found under the Tree of Life on Avatar...

Those lakes in Cali have another thing, almost zero spawning and recruitment of young bass into the population. The deep bowl shapes of these lakes provide very little spawning habitat and the oligotrophic (nutrient poor) nature of these lakes does not provide well for survival of any bass fry that may hatch out.

Pretty much...yep.

Those lakes in Cali have another thing, almost zero spawning and recruitment of young bass into the population. The deep bowl shapes of these lakes provide very little spawning habitat and the oligotrophic (nutrient poor) nature of these lakes does not provide well for survival of any bass fry that may hatch out.

The "forage" is primarily rainbow trout stocked into the lakes for local fishermen. Trout are extremely nutritionally dense, have no spines, are fusiform in body shape, and easy for a bass to eat a big one.

So this these lakes do not need to be eutrophic (nutrient rich and green or weedy) like most of our lakes, nor do they need to be productive in the way of foodstuffs, as these come from outside. So the water is also very clear.

This is a very unique situation, not easily duplicated.

[quote=Fishbreeder]

Those lakes in Cali have another thing, almost zero spawning and recruitment of young bass into the population. The deep bowl shapes of these lakes provide very little spawning habitat and the oligotrophic (nutrient poor) nature of these lakes does not provide well for survival of any bass fry that may hatch out.

Plus they have an established gene pool that is far superior to anything we have here in our lakes, public or private.

Never thought about it but that makes perfect sense. Only fished two lakes out there (Casitas & Castaic) but they were far from fish factories like what we are used to here in Texas. If you got bit it was a good un....

Huh? There were 20,000 Florida Bass fingerlings taken to California in 1959. Cali really blasted onto the big bass scene in 1973 with a fish from Miramar that was 20+ and the second largest bass ever caught in the US. (I still have the Sports Afield magazine with the story). That fish was a pure-strain Florida. All of these giants out of California are Floridas so I'm not sure what superior gene pool you're referring to.

So TPWD basically dooms one of the best public big bass lakes in the State by dumping a bunch of triploid grass carp in it, killing all of the vegetation which will in turn ruin water clarity and forage base, then sell offspring from fish donated from that program (and more than likely that lake) to a private landowner to grow genetically superior fish in a stock pond that you will have to pay to fish? Is that basically what's going on... or am I way off base? Sorry, just trying to catch up.