I would like to start a petition to get TPW to stock Lake Bridgeport back with Smallmouth Bass. I have heard from several people including people that were on the lake the day that the sensus guys from the state were out on the lake collecting data that TPW will not stock bridgeport with smallmouth again because it wouldnt sustain a healthy population of smallmouth. Is there anyone that can chime in and let this be known as fact. I dont know what thier definition is as far as sustaining population but there is still a smallie over 6lbs caught every year out there and I am catching 1 or 2 that are 10-12 inches almost everytime I go out. We have 5 fish in the top 50 with one finishing 6th, and there are alot of people that come to bridgeport just to catch a smallmouth.

if they stock it again, it won't have enough forage, "most likely" to sustain another smallmouth stocking.

and fuirthermore they'd end up being to much competition for lmbs, and other aggressive fish.

if you catch 1to 2 a day then their is more than enough in there. as they repopulate every year, and it will only increase number wise w/ smallmouth so there is no need to stock it again, "no offense"

i'd like more there but it isn't going to happen soon, it's unless it was like grapevines smally population until they stocke the ones they did recently.

If you're catching SMB then they're reproducing. No need to stock.

Explain this to me though why stock Lake Fork with pure strain floridas then. Theres a more than sustainable population of Largemouth in that lake. I understand what TPW are doing there they are introducing the florida gene in record numbers. That fish is a non native fish just the same as a small mouth. I think that if you were to stock Bport again, and again. Like they have Fork you would end up with a more than reputable smallmouth lake. Its proven itself as one of the best... so stock it right!!! Also the only thing that the smallies would truly have a competition for food with in that lake would be the hybrids, and they are killing the population of the black bass in that lake.

Very few smallies are being weighed in at the tourneys-last Media had maybe 2 or 3.It seems like its about as hard to catch a smallie over 14" as it is to catch a largemouth over 18".

Lets stop paying for any lake to be stocked then, there was fish in the waters before TPW started any stocking program. The price of a fishing liscence would go down.

Gary I think honestly that it has to do with the amount of hybrids they put in that lake. You can tell that they realized something was wrong by looking at the stocking report. They stopped stocking largemouth in 1997 and never put another bass in that lake till 2007. There were 510,481 hybrids that were put in that lake in that time. I caught a hybrid out there on a DD22 last year that had a 12 1/2" large mouth in its gut when I fillet it.

Because its FORK , next question...

Bport already produces a 6 lber every year. I too think with a little help it would do even better. I personally would like to see it happen.

Now theres two of us that think the same way. How many others are out there? Maybe if we can get enough feed back TPW might look at it.

screw BP. keep em coming at the vine...

Bridgeport is not that important of a lake really.......

I guess posts like this are supossed to get a rise out of me.... lol The only thing that makes a lake important to fisherman is the fish that live within the lake. I guess if you were to look at the lake right now, sure I would have to agree its not that important. I have lived on that lake for 28yrs now and it makes me sad to see it in the shape its in.

JMO, any lake stocked with hybrids always seem to kill the the bass fishing sooner or later.There eating machenes.
Also IMO,the slot on LMB is not working there for sure.
Last few times i have been there i caught more Hybrids and Sandbass than i did LMB,and i was LMB fishing.

Is this the same guy that wanted to guide for Hybrids because you found them "easy to catch"?

The Smallmouth record was broken three times in a matter of months in the late nineties. That is when BP was getting 100,000 Hybrids a year (too many for sure). Now We get 60K every other year. The lake has a great balance right now. I make my living with live bait. There are more Gizzard Shad in this lake than I have ever seen!

The water level going up and down hurt fish on this lake more than Hybrids ever will. I have cleaned more Hybrids than you could ever dream of and have only found one small LMB in one (lets get rid of Yellow Cats do because they eat everything also!). Not to say Hybrids won't eat a LMB , but killing them off? I don't think so.

I heard from the GW that there is serious talk of lifting the slot on LMB, that with the lake being full should help them out.

There are plenty of Brown Bass in here, and they are reproducing.