Stocking Contribution and Growth of Largemouth Bass Stocked at 50 and 100 mm into Backwaters of the Arkansas River

Abstract

Largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides were stocked at 50 or 100 mm total length (TL) into backwater areas of Pool 4 of the Arkansas River to determine their respective contributions to the year‐class. Fifty‐millimeter fingerlings were stocked at 309 fish/ha in June 2003, and 100‐mm fingerlings were stocked at 62 fish/ha in August 2003. In November 2003, the percentage contributions of these fish to the year‐class were 13.2% and 13.8% for the 50‐ and 100‐mm fingerlings, respectively. Contributions in May 2004 were 17.6% and 17.2% for the 50‐ and 100‐mm fingerlings, respectively. Stocking size and sampling year did not explain significant amounts of the variability in the contribution of stocked largemouth bass to the year‐class. Poststocking catch per unit effort of wild largemouth bass did not differ among stocked and reference coves. Some stocked fish moved among backwater areas. The average lengths and weights of fish increased between November 2003 and May 2004. However, the lengths and weights of the 50‐mm stocked, 100‐mm stocked, and wild fish were not significantly different from each other in either November 2003 or May 2004. For this riverine system, fisheries managers might expect similar contributions to a year‐class from largemouth bass fingerlings of 50 mm TL stocked at 309/ha in June and those of 100 mm TL stocked at 62/ha in August.

Comparison of Mortality and Diet Composition of Pellet‐Reared Advanced‐Fingerling and Early‐Cohort Age‐0 Wild Largemouth Bass through 90 Days Poststocking at Lake Seminole, Florida

“…The lake was stocked on 28 May 2008 with 18,263 (113 fish/ha) coded-wire-tagged advanced-fingerling largemouth bass, which is similar to stocking densities from other studies (Hoxmeier and Wahl 2002;Porak et al 2002;Colvin et al 2008;Mesing et al 2008). Mean TL of stocked fish was 77 mm (SE ¼ 3.3) and ranged in size from 60 to 97 mm TL.…”

“…Although our estimate of short-term mortality of pelletreared advanced-fingerlings does not define the success or failure of this supplemental stocking, it provides a baseline mortality estimate for future research. Potential factors that likely influenced mortality of stocked advanced-fingerlings include stocking stressors, predation, and an inability to transition to natural prey (Hoxmeier and Wahl 2002;Porak et al 2002;Colvin et al 2008;Diana and Wahl 2009).…”

“…The six fixed sites were composed of the original four stocking sites (stocking area) and two dispersal sites, one located at each end of the stocking area. Dispersal sites were selected near the stocking area because previous findings indicate that stocked largemouth bass typically do not travel long distances within the first 90 d poststocking (Hoffman and Bettoli 2005;Colvin et al 2008). Three of the remaining five sites (western shoreline) were randomly selected and sampled at each sampling event.…”

“…The size of fish at the time of stocking can affect the success of a supplemental stocking program (Olson et al 2000;Hoxmeier and Wahl 2002;Porak et al 2002;Colvin et al 2008;Mesing et al 2008). Stocking advanced-size largemouth bass (!80 mm total length [TL]) may increase percent contribution (Mesing et al 2008) and survival (Buynak and Mitchell 1999) as it has been suggested that larger fish have greater prey availability and are less vulnerable to predation than smaller fish (Loska 1982;Wahl et al 1995b).…”

“…Many previous stocking studies of advanced fingerlings have focused on percent contribution to the population 3 months to 1 year poststocking (Buynak and Mitchell 1999;Hoxmeier and Wahl 2002;Porak et al 2002;Colvin et al 2008;Mesing et al 2008). However, there is a paucity of studies on factors affecting survival of advanced-fingerling largemouth bass directly following release (i.e., 0-90 d).…”