Schwarz is the man in my book. I wish he would post on here more often.

If TPWD had some knowledge, imagination and creativity they could�ve managed the hydrilla in lake Austin carefully and stocked it with trout. Maybe we would�ve ended up with a new world record bass. During wet years and consistent water flows from Travis, it wasn�t uncommon for water to be in the high 50�s to low 60�s in the upper part of the lake well into May. Just imagine. Those bass could�ve been feasting on trout from October through May which is about the same stocking schedule in place for the many SoCal lakes that have kicked out 18+ pound fish. But we�ll never know what could�ve happened. Its going to take a couple of decades, maybe more, before lake Austin begins to resemble what it once was five to ten years ago.

Deep South Texas, not possible in the rest of Texas.

In my humble opinion,I could care less if the TP&W can grow a state record bass.Instead of wasting all that time & money how about we take care of the lakes we have now,especially out west to make sure they are well stocked with forage and bass,A state or world record just doesn't mean that much to me unless it were to happen naturally,not on someones private ranch.mi dos centavos

Growing a record bass, while definitely not being cheap or easy, is like breaking the home run record using steroids. You get an asterisk. Same with high fence deer.

When you manipulate the genes and feed them all it is to me is a fish fry. Now if some offspring find their way into public lakes like Falcon then it�s legit.

I kind of miss the old days when we stocked North American largemouth, limits by 10 am (15 then) and I enjoyed catching 3-5 #�s easily. The recreational advantages of NA largemouth got lost in trying to get 13# + fish that are nothing but work.

In January 1981 John Alaxender caught a 14.3lb largemouth bass from private Lake Echo which was the new Texas state record. It surpassed the 14.09lb state record caught by Jimmy Kimball in February 1980 from Monticello that set off the new Florida strain state record trophy bass craze. Less than a month later Alaxender broke his own state record with a 15.5lb state record bass from Echo......caught again from a �private lake�, I don�t remember any *asterisk* in the top bass lists with Alaxender�s catch because it was caught on a private lake anymore than I remember an *asterisk* beside Kimball�s name because the fish was a completely different strain of bass than the previous long standing record from Medina(Florida vs northern strain). Technically if a state record bass was caught from Squaw Creek that record would have come from �private waters�. Squaw Creek is a private lake. You have to pay $30 to fish there instead of $1000 but it is no less private. It�s all semantics!

Good point 361v.

Soooo, can I get a waypoint to see the flying reindeer?

Trout will start to die off when water temperatures get above 70 F, and what is the average water temperature of lakes in October?

Grass carp have been in Austin since 2003, since then we've had about 15 ShareLunkers out of Austin and I don't think anybody complained about a lack of hydrilla during that time. That would indicate hydrilla was being managed carfully in Austin during that period. The problem happened during the drought of 2011. Water flow through the lake was minimal and the conditions became very suitable for hydrilla, which expanded to worrying levels very quickly. In the past, LCRA water intake structures were partially blocked and homes were flooded due to excessive hydrilla build up causing water levels to rise further during a flood. If there was a flood after the drought ended there could have been serious problems. In my opinion, it was only the last couple of stockings of grass carp that tipped the balance resulting in the elimination of hydrilla and milfoil.

With hardly any plant material to eat, the natural mortality rate of grass carp can be expected to be higher than usual. We've also had a couple of big floods that have washed out many grass carp into LBL and the Colorado River. In my opinion, Austin could start recovering vegetation within 10 years. Only time will tell. Instead of the trout/bass feeding strategy, TPWD went for the genetics route to produce bigger fish. However, if some anglers are prepared to pay for stocking trout in Austin, maybe TPWD would be interested.

I bet they�d gladly swap hydrilla for the zebra mussels now!

Perhaps TPWD knows about multi-tasking. The research can occur alongside lake management activities. It's not all about getting a state record fish, it is mainly about improving the average size of trophy bass.

There are a variety of reasons why fish get stocked, but just because a lake isn't stocked for years doesn't mean anything is wrong. Natural recruitment can sustain a bass population. Florida largemouth bass are often stocked to improve the genetics of a population, but not every population needs the boost. Have a read of Hal Schram's article in In-Fisherman magazine.

Contrary to popular belief, west Texas lakes still get stocked where needed. Of course, drought and toxic golden algae has been plaguing west Texas which makes it difficult to stock fish when you know the lake might be hit again e.g., Spence, Moss Creek, Sweetwater, Brady, etc. District biologists in west Texas request bass stockings every year based on management plans. I don't believe any public lake in west Texas was not stocked when it had a genuine need.

Yep and they saw their sharelunker donations plummet the year after that cr@p got made public

Living in West Texas my whole life (50+) has allowed me to see first hand how the TP&W operates out here,they do good work,I won't say they don't,but with a limited amount of money they prioritize how the money and resources are used.We have lakes out here that are in the best shape they have been in 25 years,it's not about multi-tasking it's about taking care of a region that sometimes gets overlooked,If you never get west of I35 you might not understand the issues we face.The local bass club and the local Triton dealer having to build our own boat ramp on Hubbard Creek because we couldn't use the others and TP&W didn't have the funds.The public boat ramp on Oak Creek was built in the 50's and is known as the tire popper because it's so narrow,I could go on and on,but you get the idea.That's why I don't see the need to spend the money on a dream.Again JMHO and probally a not very popular one,but mine none the less.