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Lake Seminole Gets Bass Injection

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By CARLOS MONCADA | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 23, 2007

Photo Gallery | VIDEO: FWC Biologist Bill Pouder Describes The Project

SEMINOLE - Thousands of hatchery-reared bass are settling in for a new life at Lake Seminole.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission released 7,000 6-inch largemouth bass today in the 700-acre Pinellas County lake as part of a research project to compare growth and survival rates of stocked bass with those of wild largemouths.

"Hopefully, by stocking we can increase the number of bass in the lake," said Bill Pouder, a fisheries biologist with the commission."The overall objective is to provide a good quality fishery for the anglers."

The bass were trucked in this morning from the state fish hatchery in Sumter County. They were transferred to a boat that took them to various spots in the lake.

In Florida, stocking 1- to 2-inch bass in established populations has never achieved much success, according to the commission's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute.

The commission hopes to have better luck at Lake Seminole for a number of reasons. This time the bass are larger, and they were dispersed.

"Traditionally we'd dump the fish at the boat ramp," Pouder said."The problem with that is, not to say that the fish were dumb, but they would all sit at the boat ramp. They wouldn't relocate around the lake."

The project also will gauge whether a new feed researchers have developed for bass translates into better growth and survival rates.

Early on, the hatchery fish were trained to eat processed food. Before they were released, though, they were reintroduced to more natural food.

"They're going to have to fight for their own food at this point," Pouder said."We stop feeding them the pellet food and start feeding them fish so they can make that shift."

The bass were implanted with coded wire tags so hatchery fish can be identified and evaluated later.

"We can detect that [tag] with a special wand we have," Pouder said."It will allow us to tell what fish have been stocked versus what fish were produced naturally in the lake."

Bass from other states have been used in restocking, diluting the Florida strain that is most sought by fishermen.

"Our goal is to get those fish over 14 inches, which is the harvestable size," Pouder said. "So if we can increase the number of 14-inch fish, that would be great for the anglers."

Reporter Carlos Moncada can be reached at (727) 451-2333 or cmoncada@tampatrib.com.

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