Waco will not have any problem maintaining a LMB and Hybrid population. There are smaller lakes that have a good mixture of both. Look at coleto creek down by victoria

there are no stripers left in waco, leave the lake alone, go to whitney to catch stripers and go to belton to catch hybribs.

they need to stock grass in the lake.

They should put Tarpon in Waco!

they need to put hybrids in Slimestone....thats where the shad overpopulation is! And dredge it out while there at it.

There will be a public meeting on this issue on 16 Feb 0, 6 PM, at the Wetland Facility on Waco Lake...Come listen and share your opinions

And once the shad are thinned out/ gone? Then you have a lake that doesnt have the forage base to feed LMB and hybrids. What you do have is competition for food which makes both the size, health, and reproduction difficult for LMB. Leave the lake alone.

Another attempt to clean the water? I thought the wetlands were going to improve the water quality. I haven't noticed any difference. Keep Waco water wacko! Leave the lake alone.

Check this link please! http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbt...ING#Post3114311 Please do not start running around saying the sky is falling! Hybrid and LMB can and will coexist in the same lake. The LMBs will not starve nor will they shrink to minnows. If Waco is like Belton there are 2 types of shad, and they are not normally together. Please educate yourselves before blasting the the project out of the water. Do not just go by what your fishing buddies friend said. Just check out the science end of it.

It definitely sounds as though many anglers in the CTX region are at least somewhat aware of the details pertaining to the Lake Waco water quality meeting scheduled Mon. 2/16/09 at 6:00 p.m. Included below is the announcement sent to me via one of the Central TX TPWD officials. I post it for the viewing of anyone/all concerned if you are interested in attending the meeting:

"Please feel free to distribute this to other anglers you feel would be interested in attending or being represented.

The City of Waco approached TPWD with a request to stock hybrid stripers in Lake Waco due to recommendations made by their consultant examining ways to improve water quality. The consultant proposed that increasing the numbers of top predators in the reservoir would reduce prey densities, thus reducing predation on zooplankton. The zooplankton consume phytoplankton, which are the source of many taste and odor problems. While it is doubtful that this approach alone will have a noticeable impact on water quality, the entire package as presented by the City should.

After much negotiation, the proposed approach is:

1) Stock hybrid stripers at 5 per acre. This is the lowest stocking rate TPWD normally recommends, but it should still provide a fishery.

2) Plant native vegetation throughout the reservoir. This will help sequester excess nutrients and will provide important habitat for largemouth bass, crappie, and their prey.

3) Treat hydrilla in sensitive areas, such as beaches and marinas. This will maintain access while allowing vegetation to grow in the rest of the reservoir, a better alternative than grass carp in this situation.

4) TPWD will provide more frequent monitoring of fish and plant populations.

The City of Waco, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are all partners in this effort.

A public meeting will be held at 6 pm at the Lake Waco Wetlands building, located at 1752 Eichelberger Crossing. Take Hwy 6 west out of Waco to FM185. Go north and then take the first left, which is Eichelberger. Follow that road about a mile and a half and the white stone building will be on your right."

Seriously? Both gizzard and threadfin shad are some of the most prolific spawners out there. There really isn't such a thing as shad getting thinned out/eradicated due to predation. It has been proven time and time again that LMB and hybrids don't compete too much for forage. Embrace the reality of a new sportfish and retention of a quality LMB population.

how can you say lmb and hybrids dont compete to much for forage. bass follow shad when they go offshore but if thiers hybrids out there there just going to run the lmb off or eat the largemouth at that, it doesent matter anyway thier going to put them in there more than likely, they screwed up whitney by putting stripers in there might as well screw up another lake, we will never have a awsome lmb lake in central texas because they just wont leave the lakes alone. so long for waco becoming a great largemouth fishery.

ps go to belton if you want hybrids.

It's really common sense. Largemouth bass are littoral feeders and hybrids are pelagic feeders. Shad are primarily pelagic fish.

And really, I don't care one way or another. All I'm trying to say is that introduction of hybrids won't hurt the LMB fishery.

Look im not saying the sky is falling or anything like that. And obviously they can coexist, Belton is a decent bass and hybrid lake. As are several other lakes in our area. I dont agree with some of yall that think bass and hybrids dont compete for food. Bass follow shad just the same as hybrids...especially in the summer and fall. Its rediculous to think that the forage base wouldnt fall drastically with the extra predation. Heres another end to my argument on the hybrid subject. In 2008 TPWD stocked 2,884 Sharelunker offspring into Lake Waco http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/fish/action/stock_bywater.php?WB_code=0763 , an obvious attemp to change the lake into a trophy bass lake. Of the other lakes they stocked Lake Austin, and Nacogdotches (those are the two I know of) neither has Hybrids....wonder why that is. There are plenty of lakes close to Waco that support great hybrid or striper fishing (Whitney and Richland-Chambers). Why stock them in Waco....why not let it go from a good bass lake to a very good bass lake. That being said I realize that hybrid/striper fisherman and bass fisherman (I fish for both) will not agree on this subject. Hopefully they will come up with something that both parties can agree on. I think this is a good start "1) Stock hybrid stripers at 5 per acre. This is the lowest stocking rate TPWD normally recommends, but it should still provide a fishery." If they do decide to stock them only time will tell how it will effect the fishery as a whole.

Idk how you can think bass and hybrids wont compete for the same shad.

If I catch one out there. I will eat it.

Skeeter TZX 200, Just how has stripers hurt Whitney? They were all but killed off by the golden algae. The LMBs and SMB should have filled the void.Stripers and hybrids eat almost exclusively open water shad. LMB will chase shad in open water for brief periods during the year. That is why we can say there is no real everyday competition between the two fish. No there are not any Lake Forks or Sam Rayburn's in Cen-TX. Stripers and Hybrids are not the reason we do not have the great Bass Lakes.My gosh Amistad has stripers in it and it is a GREAT LMB lake. It has more to do with ENVIRONMENT. Our lakes are not full of grass and timber. These are the things that help create a great bass fishery. They provide ambush points and hiding spots for LMB's. I can remember when TPWD 1st announced it was going to stock SMB in TX. lakes. The LMB folks hit the roof because of the "competition" SMB would place on LMBs. Many folks shooting off at the mouth and did not check out the science of the decision. SMB live and spawn for the most part in different areas of the lake. Yes their diet will over lap with LMBs. Now in TX if Bass fisherman hear of someone not releasing a SMB all heck breaks out. Our(centex) lakes are better suited for SMB than LMB. Our lakes tend to be steep rocky banked next to 40+' of water. One of the better kept secrets in CenTex is Stillhouse Hollow. It recently started a good stand of hydrilla and the bass are growing fast and big. BTW TPWD did stock hybrids in it several years ago and it did not work out for the hybrids. So once again try to see the forest in front of you not just the tree.