Evaluation of Stocking All Female Largemouth Bass (<i>Micropterus salmoides</i>) in Alabama (USA) Ponds

Abstract

Excessive largemouth bass ( Micropterus salmoides ) recruitment in small impoundments leads to density-dependent growth depression, causing populations to have length distributions skewed towards smaller fish. To address this issue, we conducted three trials that evaluated stocking all female largemouth bass (F-LMB) in two small Alabama ponds (0.5 and 2.0 ha) where the drainage basin was isolated. Age-1 fish were individually identified for sex using a micro pipette inserted in the urogenital pore, tagged, and stocked at 38-40 F-LMB/ha into ponds that contained pre-established sunfish ( Lepomis spp.) populations. Female largemouth bass were collected with electrofishing, angling, and rotenone over a 2.5- to 5-year period among the three trials. Sex was correctly identified for 179 of the 180 F-LMB stocked. One male was detected in the first trial which resulted in successful largemouth bass reproduction and this trial was terminated after two years. Growth was rapid the first 2 years after stocking as 3-year-old fish reached an average of 429 to 459 mm and 1.37 to 1.66 kg in all 3 trials. However, 2 years after stocking, growth was nil in the second trial even though relative weights of F-LMB were generally greater than 100. In this second trial, removal of about 30% of the F-LMB inhabiting the pond and stocking small Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus (25 - 75 mm) resulted in average weights increasing from 1.30 to 2.34 kg in 1 year. Growth of F-LMB continued in the third trail, and average size approached 500 mm and 2.2 kg three years after stocking. Annual survival rates of F-LMB were high and ranged from 0.78 to 0.93 among the 3 trials. Stocking F-LMB offers an attractive alternative in ponds to create a low density largemouth bass population that displays fast growth and high survival when catch-and-release fishing is primarily practiced.