I doubt I ever have to worry about catching a Sal, but atleast now I can help with all the 8 and 9lb fish I catch thinking I finally broke the Dd mark.

Trout is definitely the major key...

A lot of those fish were killed by anglers holding them wrong which resulted in broken jaws.You never hold big fish by one hand. California fish get large because of the presence of trout and salmon.

A couple of thoughts..

I'm not sure how all this is going to work.. But if you have to drag a fish to a weigh station and handle her, it ain't good for her.. I think we can all agree on that..

Whatever size she is.. Of course it ain't good for her to be caught at all, but I don't think any of us are ready to quit fishing just yet..

As far as breeding fish that are non pure, but grew to behemoth size, it is about time.. While they may not be pure Florida, they may have the Florida gene that turned them into Rosie proportions.. If there is such a thing..

Something that I have been talking about for years..

We could slam the door on this conversation if PAW just came out with the results of their mystery experiment where they put Pure Florida bass in one pond, and Pure Sharelunker bass in a similar pond, and fed them similarly..
And recorded their growth..

But I am afraid my grandchildren may not even hear the news..

If you put perfume on a pig.. You still got a pig..

This new and improved SL program will not grow any more or bigger fish than the old one.. But it might make a few new hard nipples in the fishing community..

We'll see..

Exactly. They don't spend a dime on bass in California, they spend it on trout and salmon, the byproduct is big bass but it's not intentional.

Well said!

They have received so much negative publicity and got caught lying to the people that donated the big bass to them( as like the man in Athens) who sent back all they gave him in prizes because they lied --- well something had to change because people had come out from under the ether and figured out that the main purpose was to create jobs ,not what they claimed the intent of the program was. Well when by their own sats that once the small baby bass are released in the lake that only about 2 % make it , the program has little affect. That means that at least 95% of all bass come from lake females. Wonder why some states protect the bass while spawning ?

One reason I see more dead big fish is more people wanting to get a 8lb fish certified now... especially if this fish is caught out deep in the summer time and people just putting the fish in their livewell with surface temps in the 80-90's... just my opinion though

Some of you guys act like a largemouth bass, or even a 10 lbs is a rare endangered animal.
Most are to young to remember when a 5 lb bass would make headlines in the Dallas newspapers!
TPWD has progressed the quality and quantity of catching bass 1000% percent in the past 30 years.
A few have died in the process but the results have revolutionized bass fishing.
If you are so against this program then catch a big fish take a picture and release it.
There is no law that says you have to participate.

one of the most ignorant posts ive ever read...

[quote=BThomas]If trout would survive in Texas lakes the Bass would be bigger. Trout is a key meal for bass in California. [7/quote]

AMEN add trout momma gets really fat

My biggest problem is that where bass are deemed to be an invasive species and it is illegal to release the bass back into the lake, they grow bigger. Japan

Yes but in those lakes where it is illegal to return them guess what they are full of?
Yep trout. There are 2 species a lot like our rainbow and brook trout that are native and they are the main species in those lakes.

The press release said nothing about getting those smaller fish certified. Just that there would be a web-based application where anglers could submit their data. I think weighed, measured, photo'd and released right there in the boat will probably be sufficient, but don't know for sure.

I never really payed attention but wasn't the donation period longer in years past. Seem to remember Oct thru May. Maybe that was 2015?