This thread is a little strange. It seems people post stuff that has already been answered like 5 times by multiple folks.

"This year, for example, four of the 33 donated trophy bass spawned, three died and 26 didn't do anything or were just returned to their lakes because they weren't pure Florida bass. About 70,000 offspring were born. About 50,000 of those actually made it back to the lakes that produced their mothers.
That's about $2.75 per fingerling."

yikes this wasn't well publicized lol from one of the links somebody posted

Thanks,Jason. A voice of reason from someone who fishes Fork almost daily. Natural selection has proven superior, for creating big bass,to some flunky in a lab coat that just won the "best idea of the day" soda pop award.

I keep seeing 2005 thrown put there. Does anyone know what happened to the offspring from 1987-2005? Where is TPWD's data for those offspring?

I was told back in the 90s that Big Creek Lake in Cooper was one of the first lakes to be stocked with SAL offspring. I can't find anything online to verify this. Does anyone know if that is true?

Looks like if so many people know so much about 13 lb bass they would actually catch some. Just sayin'

Interesting quote from the Austin American Statesman article:


"Texas Parks and Wildlife estimates it is spending about $137,000 a year in direct costs for the program.
That pays for two employees working exclusively on retrieving and documenting the big bass, and includes travel expenses to and from lakes, replica mounts for the participating anglers and an annual banquet to recognize them.
Toyota is a title sponsor of the program and donates about $100,000 a year. The rest of the costs are offset with funds from the federal Sport Fish Restoration Program."



So does TPWD subsidize any of the SAL program or not ? Fouzman says they don't but this article seems to indicate that they do and that they use Federal Money to do so. The question is, could that Federal Money be used for something else if SAL did not exist ? If so, then the old theory of "Hey, it's all Toyota money anyway so who cares if it works or not, the SAL program doesn't drain TPWD coffers and negatively impact other fish stocking efforts" may not be accurate.

What do you say Fouz ?

Hey Fouzman,
Will you check on Mr Bendele? Not sure if he is sick, unable to type due to the soreness in his arms from firing off 16,000 rounds of dove load, or got his latest copy of Rosie. But 6 pages on this thread and no post by the anti SAL spokesman is not good. Lol

Good question.

Smoke, first time I have seen those numbers. They're from an article written by a journalist. One who was trying to put a negative bend on the SAL program. So I dunno if they are accurate or not. Gulf States Toyota gives way more than $100,000/year to TPWD, though. $250k alone from the TTBC.

Sure Doc, I'll check on James. He probably hasn't chimed in because no one has added anything new to this age-old argument. Either that or, as you noted, he's nursing his old shoulder back to health

2005 was when the tech to track fish DNA backwards to parents came around... as for first SAL offspring stocking I don't know but would like to hear. It would be hard to use those numbers any way because you couldn't tell if they were from just a straight Florida stocking or from a SAL

bet Toyota would rather their money make a bigger impact than it is. But we still are learning the best way to do it.

Be nice,Cam. FZ1 eats at Tiffanys. Go face up the can aisle while you've got some down time.

yes that is what they are trying to do but the numbers arn't showing up. Not enough fish spawn in captivity(you would have more spawn if you left them in the lake, no not all but more) Not enough fry produced then you lose some fry then you stock fry and their attrition rate is crazy MABEY a few of those survive.
I think that we might be better served to just get good quality bulk Florida strain fry

My last comments.

I have previously stated that if I were to catch a SAL on a public lake during their pick-up season, I would not donate it. That's because of my belief (misguided or not) that a giant bass is old and better left in it's natural environment.

It is ignorant and naive to think that the SAL program has offered no benefit to Texas anglers. And the best part is, it's been done without $ directly from TPWD.

We did not at it's inception nor until about 7 years ago have the ability to determine the DNA markers that COULD identify a superior fish produced from the program. We do now and TPWD is closely monitoring it. Rest assured, in the next two to five years, you will see fish directly from the SAL program showing up and verified through DNA.

We are so lucky in Texas to have private funding for research that aims to improve fishing for all Texans and visitors to our state.

If you had your own private lake would you want to add SAL genes?

... Yes please!

Maybe we should focus more on what fish eat that grow them to such large proportions. I like the reference to growing large bucks. YES you can grow larger bucks by introducing superior genes. However, if the natural genes are already stout, regulating the food supply can result in huge deer as well. Why would the same principal not work for LMB? I believe that the decrease in SALs is a result of over fishing, decreased habitat for baitfish as a result of the gradual maturation of our lakes.