Does anyone know how long it takes to show wether or not the Ivie bass share genetics with previous SAL? You know, like maybe they are offspring from a previous entry.


I know we have beat this horse and we can go for pages & pages, but I’d like an answer to the question above if possible.

Of all those last year from IVIE I was told none were relatives of past SAL from the biologist.

They Also did not spawn out very good at Athens last year.

At this point there is NO TOP 50 fish that is from a SAL program off spring as of Jan 2022

Then you know where I’m going with this.

If they are not stocking SL genetics back into these lakes and if the genetics are not holding up then why are we donating these fish at the moment to the program? I have never had an issue with SL and if I ever catch a 13+ would donate but just a genuine question…

A picture of the fish and the scale in the boat, a kiss on her head , and back she goes in Ivie.

I am curious to know that if any of the SALs caught last year at Ivie have been the ones caught this year.

What about those fish from Marine Creek?

The not spawning well in Athens doesn't surprise me a ton especially if they didn't adjust for the difference in pH. I would guess Ivie is easily a 1/2 pt higher in pH than the water used in Athens and that can be a big deal on a fish already in a very stressful situation. I also don't think the SAL program is designed to kick out new Top 50 fish, its more about the average fish in our lakes compared to other states which is HUGE. Most on this forum look at a 7# fish as a ho-hum nice chunk where in about 40 other states its a GIANT. To me, that is what the SAL program and Florida strain fish stocking in general has done.

I believe the Marine Creek SAL from a few years back was proven to be offspring of another SAL.

From TPWD:

In addition, TPWD biologists through genetic analysis of this year’s Legacy Lunkers, have made some discoveries in terms of lineage to previous and other 2021 ShareLunkers. ShareLunker’s 587 and 600 from O.H. Ivie are related to each other while ShareLunker 602 from Coleman City is likely the granddaughter of ShareLunker 410 which was caught at Lake Conroe during the 2006 season. Biologists were able to identify that at least two fish this season, the Lake Travis ShareLunker 597, and ShareLunker 608 from Lake Fork, are fish from the pure Florida Largemouth Bass program that were spawned in and stocked out of the TPWD hatcheries.

“Much like last season, when ShareLunker 583 was determined to be a 6th generation offspring, it’s always great to see the genetic analysis reaffirm the efforts,” said Tom Lang, Director of the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center. “On the other hand, when ShareLunkers aren’t related to previous ShareLunkers it is also valuable because those fish add more big bass genetic diversity to the effort.

To answer your question, 10 years ago there was a load of SAL fingerlings stocked into OH Ivie. Whether or not any of the recent SAL's were from that group remains to be seen. We will know in a few months after DNA tests have been run.

Wow Ken. That would seem just about right from a timing standpoint too. That would be very cool if that turns out to be the case

Fork got pretty much the same in those 3 years, Why isn’t it working out there?

And I think it makes a huge difference stocking fingerlings versus fry. If tpw could ever get the cost down to make it feasible to stock 100's of thousands of fingerlings versus fry, you'd see substantial impacts in my opinion. Given the lake has adequate water and cover at the time....

Have to agree...think about how many times that fish has spawned BEFORE she was a SAL. Same genetics all her life. Leave em in there.

Exactly what I think to.