I did a post back in February 2012 concerning the Tiger Bass. I was reporting on the stocking of a 30 acre lake near our home. I had the opportunity to see the stocking of the bluegill and the red fin shad which was around 2” in length at that time and in late August of that same year I was present when the Game and Fish Department out of Montgomery stock the 3” Tiger Bass. I was invited to fish the lake back in October of this year just to check the grow rate of the copper nose and regular bluegill that were stocked back in February of 2012. When we arrived that day we notice all the automatic feeders were on and spraying tiny pellets of feed across the water surface. The Coppernose and regular bluegill were in a feeding frenzy going after the pellets. All the feeders on the lake are timed to engage at the same time so we witnessed quite a spectacle. The feeding program and of course the removing of certain pounds of bluegill and bass after the first three years is the key to having a fantastic fishery here. I landed numerous bluegills that day in the 6 to 7 oz size using a small brown colored nymph resembling the pellet. I am sorry I didn’t have images for that trip because I forgot the camera. The Coppernose was a little larger than the regular bluegill. Both species should be quite the fighter on the fly come summer. I am very fortunate to be able to fish this place in the coming years. The fly rod will be my main weapon here when spring rolls around.
I landed this healthy 14” Tiger
Bass in November this past year. I couldn’t believe the size of this
fish considering its only 14 months old. It was released as a small 3” fingering;
the shad in the lake is what increases the growth rate along with the genetics
that the Tiger Bass possesses. I wasn’t using the fly rod that day because of
depth, all the fish were concentrated in the deepest part of the lake feeding
on the shad. This bass was taken on a white shad grub fishing about 20 ft.
deep. I stayed for about an hour and landed fish consistently throughout the
hour. I didn’t fish at all for bluegill on this trip because I wanted to see
how fast the bass had grown since stocking. You can bet I will be back in the
spring to tap into the bluegill population.
Crazy that a bass can grow that fast. What is the main advantage of stocking tiger bass vs the average large mouth?
ReplyDeleteAt first I thought it was a spotted bass and then I looked up exactly what a tiger bass is. That's a cool sounding mix!!
ReplyDeleteSomeone's providing fine food there.
ReplyDeleteKevin
ReplyDeleteThe Tiger Bass grows so much faster than the largemouth and the fight is unbelievable. Thanks for the comment
J
ReplyDeleteThe fish are extremely aggressive and the fight is more powerful than the smallmouth. Can you imagine landing one of these on the fly rod. Thanks for sharing
Alan
ReplyDeleteA well managed pond and yes the food make the difference. thanks for sharing
Thanks for the follow up, Bill, on last year's post. I remember at the time being envious of your opportunity to have this lake nearby with a chance to fish it. Now that I see the results of the management and the growth of the fish, I am in more envy than ever. Wow, what a fly rod opportunity.
ReplyDeleteMel
ReplyDeleteThe bass in this lake will be well over 2 lbs. by summer and the bluegill, especially the coppernose will over 9 or 10 oz. which should make for some fantastic fly fishing. Thanks for the comment
I've been tying up flies for largemouth. AGFC took the 12 inch limit off of Spotted bass on Beaver Lake which means there must be a pretty good number of them . . . that and they stocked tons of smallmouth bass recently. Wonder if they are protecting spotted bass from taking over the smallmouth??
ReplyDeleteBill, is this lake a public lake or private? Looks like a great place to fish!
ReplyDeleteJosh
ReplyDeleteIt depends on what the size the smallmouth are, if they are small at the stocking, then the spots could make short order of most of them. This place is going to be a great place to fish this year and the coming years even with the spots and smallmouth living together.. Thanks for sharing
David
ReplyDeleteThis place is very private, in fact I am lucky to be able to get in myself. I can only go in with one of my fishing buddies; who knows the Doctor who owns the place. If they want to keep the fish growing at a tremendous rate, then they will have to let more fisherman in there to remove more of the fish, otherwise it will become overstocked. I got to fish it twice this past year, and hope to get to fish it at least 3 or 4 times this year. I will check and see if I can invite someone as a guest. Thanks for the comment