Hey FishBreeder, Please enlighten me as to how these private ponds have your private bass stocked in them ? Then they go to where for what purpose? Where did these fingerlings come from in the beginning? I suppose you have all the state required documents to raise transport livestock. As the Fish and Game folks might be interested in you. Any tourney work being supported by you? Dan
Well...I went down to the local public reservoir right after the bass spawned and seined up a bunch of fry then stocked them into the ponds. I got paid pretty good for that and it didn't cost much either. I didn't know I needed any papers to get a few fish and put them in some ponds, nobody said nothing to me about it. I've seen the Fish and Game trucks about from time to time but none ever stopped to talk to me. And yes, I've worked some tournaments so I could take some of the catch back home alive to stock a pond with.
I mean WTH, dude? I have been working in Texas as a fisheries biologist for over 35 years. I own and operate my hatchery and provide consultation to all manner of aquatic resource interests, including several state agencies. I've more permits, licenses, and papers than a forest of trees could produce. The people that have used my fish know and understand that I provide a superior specimen at a reasonable cost. Bred by design, not by default. Yes the Fish and Game folks are interested in my work as I have upon many occasions provided them with DNA in the form of live fish for their programs. Not just Texas either, if you've caught a bass anywhere near Phoenix, AZ it either came from my farm or is a descendant of a fish that did.
Lake Woodlands, all my fish. Warmwater blue catfish raised in Idaho, all descendants of my stock. The well documented superior strain of Blue Catfish known as the "D&B Blue" I helped develop. If you've ever eaten a US farm raised catfish, very likely it had DNA from my work.
ANY fish raised and consumed in the US has my fingerprints as I was one of the original USMSSP (US Model Seafood Surveillance Project) that helped develop congressionally mandated seafood inspections now in place. I helped write the rules.
If you ever fished Texas Utilities lake near Conroe, all my fish. For many years I worked the tournament that helped restock Lake Conroe and provided fish from my hatchery for that effort. If you've fished for blue catfish in Wisconsin, all mine. My fish have been distributed as far as The Philippines, Japan, The UK, Mexico, Canada, Honduras, Columbia and many other countries. Coast to coast and Northern border to Southern across the US. If you go to the Chahinkapa, ND zoo....my fish.
Down here by the Texas coast I also own and operate a fishing and hunting facility. It is next door to the Brazoria NWR and I work closely on conservation issues with the feds as well. As a consultant I work for diverse interests such as Idaho potato farmers, Pacific Northwest utility companies, local and nationwide fish shops, local bait distributors and dealers, cemeteries, funeral homes, golf courses, Howard Hughes, USFWS, USFS, USBS, TPWD, TCEQ, and a host of governmental alphabet soups. I am one of very few official fish appraisers working for USDA. When there is an outbreak of a reportable fish disease, I get a call.
So yah, I sorta got a bit of a handle on things when it comes to fish and water.
Brett Rowley
Fisheries Biologist
Brett's Fish Farm/The Good Luck Fishing and Hunting Club
