I know it makes sense that stocking automatically leads to better fishing but in reality there are few situations where stocking hatchery-raised largemouth bass on top of wild LMB populations does anything more than feeding resident predators. It works when habitat is limiting reproduction or some other factor is limiting recruitment.

On the other hand, there aren't many things you can do to a 100k, 50k, even a 25k acre lake to substantially improve fishing across the entire lake. Habitat enhancement and maximizing forage is probably a more cost-effective route. But, it doesn't look as good on paper as stocking 200k LMB fingerlings each year.

Fork has been the Crown Jewel of Texas lakes for three decades. That one lake has poured millions, if not billions of dollars into the Texas economy. So to echo Mark's question, Why would they not??

Ok so the TPWD, stocks most lakes with fingerlings and fry, other than maybe cost and space, why don't they grow them a little bigger to 4-10" since only a very small % live when they release fingerlings and fry. if its cost and space maybe increase License a few $$$. what am i missing here.

Lake Fork IS the grand experiment. Before it was ever flooded TPWD had brood ponds going all over the bottoms full of Florida strain bass.

Back in the late 80's and early 90's Lake Fork was the lake of record for Texas. The experiment worked. I believe if the large mouth bass virus had not hit Fork and 22 other lakes in the south Fork would have broken the record over and over.

According to Gary DeArmand who was guiding on the lake at that time you could literally walk on all the 10 lb+ bass floating on the north end. Up where Ethel was caught.

And even though the lake has seemed to recover those large schools of "big bass" are just rarely caught. But Fork is still pumping out enough big bass to keep a lot of people interested in visiting in the hope of catching their bass of a lifetime. Just look at the surveys in all of the marinas. Pages upon pages of 7 lb plus bass listed. And most don't take the time to even bother with it. I personally have never listed any big bass I have caught on them.

Lake Fork has left a trail all over Texas. From the surveys done by TPWD and using DNA they know exactly where a bass came from. The share a lunker program "babies" have been spread throughout our state for the betterment of us all.