In a previous Lake Lavon fishing report from Capt I asked the question why the TPWD does not stock Hybrids (Palmetto Bass) in Lavon & that I thought they might do better than the Stripers that they have stocked for several years. I mentioned that I was writing to the TPWD to find out why. Mr. Bruce Hysmith from the TPWD was kind enough to answer my questions (twice) & provide a lot of information including a performance report from stockings over the years. Well, it turns out that they had stocked Hybrids in Lavon back in 1976 & they did not fair well. I asked Mr. Hysmith if he minded if I shared the information w/ you guys & he said �please do, especially the performance report.� See his email below.
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Thanks for your contact regarding Lake Lavon . Yes, we were stocking striped bass in Lake Lavon in hopes of establishing a fishable population from which we could collect brood fish when needed. Our best catches were in 1996 and 1999. Our latest gill net surveys have produced low catches. In fact, we have ceased stocking striped bass. Hybrid striped bass (palmetto bass) were stocked once in 1976 and they performed worse than the striped bass, so we feel they do not hold much promise for Lake Lavon either. I will have to admit, palmetto bass may have performed better than striped bass if we did follow-up stocking which we did not. We have no immediate plans to stock palmetto bass into Lake Lavon . According to our latest fisheries survey, white bass are not doing well in Lake Lavon either. Our catch rate for white bass started downhill in 1999 and has declined during every survey since then. I have attached a copy of our latest report. We will be surveying Lake Lavon over the next two years. The survey may turn up some better indication that palmetto bass may do better, but we won�t know that until 2011. I will also point out that palmetto bass fingerlings are often limited in supply and the lakes in which they are stocked are by priority. So if we wanted to stock them, we would have to compete with other water bodies. I would point out that Lakes Ray Hubbard and Tawakoni both have established populations of palmetto bass, Texas state record comes from Ray Hubbard. Have you fished these lakes? Let me know if you have more questions1

Be sure and share the info contained in the report I e-mailed to you. Regarding results of our gill net survey following the one stocking of palmetto bass, 0.1 fish per net night is hardly representative of a stellar introduction (refer to page 24 APPENDIX C). Pure striped bass did fare a little better, especially 1996 and 1999. However, results from 2003 and 2007 were disappointing. Right now there are no plans to stock stripers, however, after the survey in 2010-2011 things may change. Thanks for passing this info on. And thanks for your interest in FISH and FISHING TEXAS!
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I have the performance report & will try to attach it because it is too much info to copy & paste. I personally believe that if they did follow-up stockings of Hybrids then there may have been better success & I am keeping my fingers crossed that the TPWD will pay some attention to Lavon in the coming years w/ some more aggressive stocking programs. We won�t know anything until 2011 though. Anyways, just wanted to share this info w/ you. If I cannot get the report attached & you would like to see it send me your email & I would be happy to send it to you.

Id like to see the report please. Thank you for posting the info.

I wish TP&W would make their gill net surveys and performance reports more accessible to the public. Ive found a few online but it always seems like they are very old. Its nice to have some actual scientific facts about your favorite fishery.

You guys shoot me your email addresses either on this post or PM & I will send you the info tonight. Stuck in training all day .

Carey,
Email sent. Thanks for your interest.

I have recently caught what I thought was small (4 to 6 inch) stripers in Lavon and I also believe I have caught a few hybrids about the same size. I would think that they would be bigger if they have not stocked Lavon in a few years. I will take some pics next time I catch some.

JSIG, thanks for taking the time to investigate this. I do not fish Lavon but, I would if the Hybrid population was to increase.

I want to thank you JSIG for taking the time to gather and post this info. I would also like to thank Mr. Bruce Hysmith from the TPWD for his prompt response with this info. This kind of communication is what can and will make our mutual concerns for our fishery a successful venture. I've said for a while now how I wish we had a few folks from TP&WD and a a few Game Wardens who would monitor these forums as members of TFF. The benefits to everyone involved would be enormous in my opinion. There is so much that could be done if we all worked together. So please Jsig, pass along our thanks to Bruce as well as an invitation to join the TFF if he's not already a member.

Now with all the heartfelt niceties said......after studying the issue a bit. Let me say this: In 1976.....were the folks doing the stocking high? Let's see, They stock 39,200 hybrids in Lavon, and the same years stock 149,616 in Ray Hubbard. They then stock hybrids 23 more times between '76 and '09... http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/fish/action/stock_bywater.php?WB_code=0600 hundreds of thousands of them....pardon me, MILLIONS of them, and Bruce mentions that Hubbard has a well established hybrid population, and to his credit he mentions how they might have seen better results with ongoing stockings at Lavon. Well gee willakers. 39,200 stocked once is not a large enough sample to have on ounce of statistical significance. Not one iota! Why even waste their time doing it? I'd be curious who made the stocking decisions for Lavon then and since then. Does his brother-in-law own Ray Hubbard or something?

Dave,
Haha, I felt the same about the single stocking of Hybrids. I really hope they try again. Ray hubbard & Lewisville are not much different than Lavon & both have established populations of Hybrids due to more aggressive stocking programs. Maybe I will keep writing to them . I will pass along your thanks to Mr. Hysmith. Thanks for your interest as well, maybe if more of us are then Lavon may get a little more attention for future stockings.

LOL....so you DON'T think the 39,200 from 34 years ago ought to "hold us for a while?"

hmmm...you may be on to something.

Brian / Capt / Dave,
Report sent via email. Thanks.

No...thank YOU John for taking the time to do this.

it was a good read, thanks.....

I know this is old guys but does anyone have any info on this? What are the results and is lavon ever going to get hybrids?

If the white bass are on the decline there then I would think no way would they stock.