Louisiana Sportsman Reported: The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries plans to stock fewer but larger pure Florida largemouth bass fingerlings into waters across the state later this spring, a biologist said. Mike Wood, inland fisheries director for LDWF, said he believes the move to using fewer 2-inch fingerlings instead of more ¾-inch fish will pay off for anglers over time.
“Our idea on that is we think we’re going to get more bass into that natural population in the long run because they’ll survive so much better,” he said. “We think fewer large fingerlings will net a higher survival than will a larger number of small fingerlings.”
Depending upon the success of the spawn in the four hatcheries across the state, upwards of 2.5 million fish could be distributed to more than 30 bodies of water in April and May, according to the priority stocking report provided by LDWF.
“In the long run, our goal is to insert these fish into the population, and we feel like we’re able to do that with a larger fingerling in smaller numbers better than with lots of very small fish,” he said.
But the move to using larger fingerlings is harder for the hatcheries because of the cannibalistic nature of the tiny bass, Wood said.
“They can’t help it, so they’re going to eat each other and we lose numbers the longer we hold them, and that’s the frustration for our hatchery folks,” Wood said. “They’re cannibalistic like crazy, so every day we hold them, we have fewer and fewer fish.
“But again, with a larger fingerling I feel like I can get 10-to-1 better survival than with the very small ones.”
Wood also pointed out that an effort is being made to transport the larger fingerlings by boat to stocking sites that offer more cover for the young fish, rather than just releasing them near a landing.
“Heck, you could have a hungry school of longear sunfish out there at the boat ramp, and they’re going to hit you pretty hard,” he said.
The priority list for fingerling distribution is developed statewide with input from LDWF biologists, district managers and anglers, Wood said in an email.