THE TIGER BASS AND THE GORILLA BASS

New Life in an Old Pond

EDITOR'S NOTE: Barry Smith of Montgomery, Alabama, a longtime fisheries biologist, co-owns American Sport Fish in Pike Road, Alabama, one of the largest private hatcheries in the Southeast, with his partner Don Keller. Smith and Keller have developed several breeds of fish that landowners enjoy stocking in their ponds that may find their way to public waters one day. To keep avid fishermen updated on the newest information and the future of bass fishing, we talked with Smith about the two, new strains of super bass that have been developed and now are being stocked into farm ponds, the Tiger Bass and the Gorilla Bass.

QUESTION: What kind of results have you gotten by stocking the Gorilla Bass or the Tiger Bass into an already-existing pond?
ANSWER: Catch rates for lakes that have had an established population of Florida bass for 8 or 10 years are usually very low. When these lakes are new, up to about 3 years of age, the catch rate is really good. But as the lake gets older, the catch rate goes down. We've found that by introducing the Tiger Bass at 10 pounds per acre, pond owners will see a definite improvement in their catch rate. Once we introduce this Tiger Bass, 1/3 of the fish that pond owners catch usually will be Tiger Bass. At times, the Tiger Bass may account for up to 60 percent of the catch.

QUESTION: Apparently this aggressive strain of Tiger Bass also triggers strikes from the other strain of bass already in the lake.
ANSWER: All of the lakes that we've stocked have shown similar results. Before we put the Tiger Bass in the lakes, the Florida bass were hard to catch. But after some time, the Tiger Bass in the lake incited the Florida bass to bite. The Florida bass may bite more because they get in competition with the northern Tiger Bass.

QUESTION: What stocking rate would you recommend for putting these Tiger Bass in a pond?
ANSWER: We've had extremely good luck with 10 pounds of Tiger Bass per acre in an existing pond.

QUESTION: What do the Tiger Bass cost?
Answer: They run $8 per pound. However, since they produce good quality fish that are easy to catch, it is worth the investment.

For more information about American Sport Fish, write P.O. Box 20050, Montgomery, AL 36120, or call (334) 281-7703.

TOMORROW: WHAT TO FEED A GORILLA