i still believe a true SAL to be 13+.(the only ones turned in if chosen by the angler) the rest are just for a decal and not to be turned in.

the folks at sal moved the goal post way down because there were less an less real sal over 13 dont really see a lot of fish over 13 lbs being caught in the future with so many more folks on the water these days.

from tpwd

Anglers who reel in any largemouth bass at least 8 lbs. or 24 inches can participate simply by entering their lunker catch information. Complete Entry Requirements online or in the new ShareLunker mobile app during the year-long season (January 1 through December 31).

All confirmed ShareLunker participants will receive a Catch Kit corresponding to their fish’s weight class. Each Catch Kit includes an achievement decal, merchandise and other giveaways. Plus, everyone who enters will be included in a grand prize drawing to win a $5,000 shopping spree and other prizes! And, anglers who donate their 13 lb. or larger bass for spawning will be entered in an additional drawing to win a $5,000 shopping spree, VIP access and awards programming at the 2020 Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest and other prizes. See official rules for both drawings.

This is true, you want the tournment guys to be invested in the program, the guys that are catching the bulk of the big fish, you better have some financial incentive to enter your fish into it and I'm not talking about a lotto that just one person wins, the $5000 right direction but they need more

There are plenty caught that are never reported

And some turned in reported from Fork when they were not caught there.

Working on getting an $$$ incentive plan....stay tuned

How about they stop killing the grass in all our lakes?

How about they stop killing the grass in all our lakes?
How about educating yourself about who is paying for it and doing it?

There’s two separate programs flying under the SAL banner. One is the well known breeding program of 13+ pound fish. The other is an app for data collection, so our biologists can make better decisions. Given the history of fish dying, I doubt I would ever submit a fish to the SAL breeding program. The second, on the other hand, I would have no problem doing. I’d probably prefer to do so without the lake being publicly accessible.

Ken, thanks for doing these videos. One question I would be curious to ask TPWD is their thoughts on stocking pure Florida’s (which I believe is the current policy) vs F1 hybrids, who tend to be more aggressive. Given the increase in fishing pressure, I would think the latter may start to make more sense at some point soon.

Until P&W more vigorously protects aquatic vegetation, we’ll have a love/hate relationship with them, but overall, they’re top 2 or 3 organization of their type in the country. We as anglers need to do a better job of building relationships with biologists, organizing, and supporting efforts like BASS’ conservation arm to ensure policy and P&W projects match our interests.

Without completely starting back up the “TPWD spraying grass” topic(I certainly would if I thought it would be more than a wasted breath) this could be one of the more factual claims in this thread. Lake Austin, Purtis Creek...........all turned out SAL’s with lots of fishing pressure. Wonder what’s the missing ingredient now?

Lake austin homeowners basically forcing tpw to overstock grass carp. That's the problem. Lake austin would have produced, in my opinion, multiple 15+ fish. It had just produced a 16+. The amount if 8-10lbers was staggering. It routinely took 40lbs to win spring events.

The program has good intentions from the beginning but the number one problem I see is that they never really took into consideration the anglers level of "fish care". Vast majority of 13+ that die is because of how they were handled before tpw ever got to them. No different than tournament fish care just that much more important with a 13+.

When all this DATA is collected, what is the actual benefit of it? I guess you could call it data, but it is really just a tally sheet.. And a very incomplete one as well.. And inaccurate data is worthless..

And even if every fish that was over eight was reported, what info could be used from this data to improve fishing, and grow bigger better bass?

It could help you keep track of catch history.. It could help you predict which lakes might put out a few really big fish in the near future. Because you know the population of eights and up is good..

And under that scenario, being every eight was reported, and PAW being in the business of you catching the Bigger Better Bass they are growing for you, They would put out an alert telling all the country that (insert lake name here) is loaded with big fish and it is likely to put out some good numbers of giants this year..

And the likleyhood of that said lake being pummeled that year would be high.. But that is the stated goal under these guidelines I suspect?

If any data at all is gleaned from this reporting process, here is one aspect I guarantee you will be quite evident.

Lakes that have a high catch rate of quality fish will be lakes that went thru a several year period of excellent habitat and water quality and had a high density of available forage..

There you have it in a nutshell..

I believe stocking fish in lakes is paramount to growing big bass.. Because it is all about being prepared.. No one can predict when the next awesome water cycle is coming..

So kudos to PAW for their stocking efforts.. Keep some good genetics in our lakes..

And whether we like it or not, Mother Nature, not man, will dictate what size and how many fish we are going to be catching..

Damn good looking fish!