Counting fingerlings like...

"Three hundred and five thousand, one hundred and twelve fingerlings. Three hundred and five thousand, one hundred and thirteen fingerlings. Three hundred and five thousand, one hundred..."

"HEY BILL!! Did ya eat yet? Me and bubba is fixing to run to Whataburger. You want a patty melt and sweet tea!?!"

"Dammit Jim!! I told you not to bother me when I'm counting fingerling! One fingerling. Two fingerlings"

I'm pretty dang happy with largemouth bass fishing in Texas. I enjoy fishing for big bass, and Texas is the place to do it. On Lake Fork, you might catch a double digit bass on any cast and that's what keeps this old man going. Same goes for Rayburn, Nacowhatever near Nacogdoches, Toledo, Pines, bunches of places. I think TPWD is the best state fisheries and game management entity in the USA. Sure they spend money in less than optimal ways, what state agency doesn't. If you want to bitch about somebody,how about the U.S Fisheries and Wildlife folks protecting the water turkys (Double Crested cormorants?). They deserve it far more, in my view.

You're among friends here.. We're not knocking PAW in general.. Just discussing SL program and its progress or lack thereof..

Don't get me started on the [censored] cormorants..

Tell that to the people who have experienced TPWD's utterly stupid use of sterile grass carp. Once upon a time Conroe was a leading lake in the state. It was all brought to a halt rather rapidly in their ultimate debacle of turning Lake Conroe into a barren mudhole.[/quote

First off ask anyone at TPWD and the first thing they will tell you is they did not stock grass carp that was TAM and the river authority. I have checked on this and it is true, so blame TAM university and the river association for Conroe. The good thing that happens because of Conroe is after that any lake wanting to control grass had to get the OK fro TPWD also the use of non sterilized grass carp was made illegal. And you must not fish Conroe much, it is definitely not a mud hole or the Dead Sea. Was it better with grass, yes, but it isn’t the Dead Sea now for sure.
Next I said in my post that except for grass spraying which includes grass control they have done a good job.

People vastly underestimate the power of these River authorities and Water control districts.They have lots of political pull and are still responsible for a big chunk of the grass spraying that gets done. They extend TPWD the courtesy of rubber stamping some of these herbicide applications, but if the river authority wants it done they will do it no matter what TPWD wants. They just allow TPWD to take all the heat for many of these decisions. How nice of them.

I think TPWD's biggest mistake was trying to eradicate the giant salvinia. They killed tons of habitat doing that. They have admitted that mistake and hopefully they will adhere to their own plan of just spot treating it where needed in the future.

anyone remember when Monticello was the state record?

I do. I knew Jimmy Kimball.

How about Kountry Korner? It had so many big bass pics on the walls from different years.

Yep, everybody bringing any bass over 7 up the the Kountry Korner for a picture might have had some effect on Monty’s. How good could it have been if this practice hadn't been going on? Still never saw so many 7lb. fish come out of a 2000ac lake. I couldn’t pass by without going in to see the new Polaroid pics covering the walls. Actually I remember Welsh having the state record for “public waters” when tiny/private Lake Echo had the state record. Welsh had a 15.23 in 1983 to Monty’s 14.09 in 1980. Man I’m getting old!