According to WRD Region Supervisor of Fisheries Les Ager, some of the bass stocked in the lake were F1s, the super-fast-growing Florida/Northern-cross strain of largemouths. Too, all the bass stocked were female.

?A bass grows according to the energy it expends,? said Les. ?We stocked all female bass, and when you eliminate reproduction you keep the density low, and the fish grow rapidly. The fish don?t have to fan beds and go through courtship or have to guard eggs and fry ? that?s energy saved that goes into growth. The lake has an incredible amount of forage, and the fish are growing rapidly. The bass are two years old, and they average about 4 1/2 pounds, with some exceptional fish in the 6- to 7-lb. range.?

Forage in the lake includes shiners, threadfin shad and bluegill. Les expects to see bass in the 10-lb. range by next year. All bass fishing is catch-and-release.

?If you want big fish in numbers, you have to put them back,? said Les. ?We are likely to keep that restriction, and we know what will happen: the lake will grow a lot of big bass.?

According to Fisheries Biologist Keith Weaver, approximately 1,100 yearling bass were stocked in the lake, and between a third and half of those fish were F1s.