F1 Largemouth bass in Lake Norman?

CRC

Old Mossy Horns
Plan is for the NCWRC and fishing clubs to experimentally stock F1 largemouth bass into Lake Norman to see what happens.

Largemouth fishery has been on decline for years.
 

Crappie_Hunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
F1's is not going to solve the problem, it's only going to make it worse... look at Chickamauga they have been stocking Florida strain exclusively since early 2000's and it is arguably the best lake in the country. Norman will never be that for several reasons but F1 bass bring on a whole nother set of potential issues...
 

CRC

Old Mossy Horns
WRC fishery meeting this morning

The hope is the f1s survive and compete with the Alabama bass better.

They would have to be stocked every year to maintain a fishery

Virginia is stocking them in Smith Mountain Lake
 

Going Coastal

Eight Pointer
Smith Mountain Lake Va. and Claytor Lake Va. both have been stocked with some F1's.
I think 4 or 5 years now for SML. But don't quote me on the years.

I catch some pretty nice bass while striper fishing at SML. But I have no idea how to tell the difference between the F1's.


Sent from my LGL164VL using Tapatalk
 

mbh78

Ten Pointer
Contributor
Waste of money, in my not so expert opinion. If I'm not mistaken, the biologist that met with the group spearheading this effort pretty much told them that as well. There is a reason bass in Norman have not consistently grown to the sizes they do in other NC lakes. I am no expert, so I can't say what that reason is, but there is definitely a reason. I don't see the F1's changing that. I hope I'm wrong because I love fishing Norman. It's a fun lake to fish, but it is not a lake I go to expecting to catch big fish.
 

CRC

Old Mossy Horns
Also they mentioned actively growing hydrilla has been eradicated from Shearon Harris Lake (although seeds/tubers could still be in the soil) and native vegitation is being planted to replace the hydrilla
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
Also they mentioned actively growing hydrilla has been eradicated from Shearon Harris Lake (although seeds/tubers could still be in the soil) and native vegitation is being planted to replace the hydrilla
that's ironic since it (hydrilla) was all purposely killed.
 
Last edited:

Duckmauler dhc

Old Mossy Horns
that's ironic since it (hydeilla) was all purposely killed.

yep, what a joke......they put up cages and plant some weird type of vegetation that will never ever grow 10 feet outside of its original area after they eradicate the good stuff(hydrilla). That place is ruined. Will never come back if there isn’t the ecosystem that made it great to begin with. It’s happened so many times in our state. I wish they would leave it alone. Idk why they hate hydrilla so much.
 

CRC

Old Mossy Horns
that's ironic since it (hydeilla) was all purposely killed.

Because hydrilla is not a native species but classified as a noxious weed

They are replacing it with water willow

At least that is what they said. Plus lots of fish attractors
 

Duckmauler dhc

Old Mossy Horns
Because hydrilla is not a native species but classified as a noxious weed

They are replacing it with water willow

At least that is what they said. Plus lots of fish attractors

F1’s aren’t native in lake norman either but here they come......and before anyone starts, I know we have Florida strains in our state that were native.....predominantly down East. And I’m not against the f1s, I think it could be a good idea in the long run.

I wonder if they could go to tuckertown and badin and figure out how to kill the black snot algae that killed all the water willow in those lakes......if they can spend enough of our tax dollars eradicating something great then why can’t they kill something everyone hates?
 

CRC

Old Mossy Horns
I think in Harris its mostly Duke Power being forced by the govt to kill off the hydrilla

There seems to be a "war" on hydrilla in NC.
 

Duckmauler dhc

Old Mossy Horns
I think in Harris its mostly Duke Power being forced by the govt to kill off the hydrilla

There seems to be a "war" on hydrilla in NC.

it’s definitely not just in Harris. They killed all the river grass in tuckertown that we all loved a few years ago.....they’ve killed the grass in mayo, killed the grass on the lower end of norman.....I haven’t been to Roanoke rapids or Gaston in a long time but I’m sure it’s heading that way there if it hasn’t already. They have lake Higgins closed for the whole fall/winter and half of next spring because it has a tiny amount of hydrilla in it and they’re killing it and I can guarantee you they will kill all the Pads with it when they spray and it’ll be a dead zone. The ncwrc, water management dept and everyone involved in this are all garbage. Grass is excellent for the water quality and the ecosystem and not just for the fish.
 
It cracks me up the # of folks that bitch about non native species but if they are F1 bass and not spotted bass we are all for it. My preference is dont fool with mother nature but its too late for that. They should change the name from Norman To lake Pandora the box has been opened. As have most lakes in the country.
 

Mallard Cutter

Six Pointer
The Virginia wildlife folks have been stocking the tidal James and the Chick for a few years and it has definitely improved the bass fishing up there. But thats a whole totally different ball game up there. Lots of natural vegetation , tide water , etc. etc.
 

Justin

Old Mossy Horns
I’m doing my best to knock the spot population back. Hell I ever feel bad for the largemouth since spots came on the scene. Luckily I only had to send 2 to their maker after Christmas and only one on Christmas Day.
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I’m doing my best to knock the spot population back. Hell I ever feel bad for the largemouth since spots came on the scene. Luckily I only had to send 2 to their maker after Christmas and only one on Christmas Day.
Knowing what I do now you will be feeding the coons or the cats one. With your most recent change. :cool:
 
define fun lol
Aggressive bite! Easier to catch! Fight harder than a largemouth # per #. I dont like fishing I like catching. But I like catching Bream too! Ive caught largemouth before that you couldn't even feel a strike. You just see your line moving sideways and set the hook. I fish Lake Chatuge Lake Lanier Lake Burton. They have some of the biggest spotted bass in the US. Ive caught several in the 6# to 7# range. Believe me they are fun to catch. We call the big spots magnums for a reason.
 
Last edited:

Duckmauler dhc

Old Mossy Horns
Anybody complaining about the bass fishing in norman now shoulda have had to fish it prior to spots and after it was a semi new reservoir.
The spots now outweigh the largemouth from that period. and are far more "cooperative"

Agreed. It was the Dead Sea before the spots came around. It was a HORRIBLE largemouth fishery. They’re a whole lot bigger since the spots. Now the hybrids on the other hand are the biggest problem. The fishing on that lake has gone with the population of the hybrids over the last 15 years. When there are few hybrids, there is a lot more bait and the spots/lm are bigger and healthier. When there are a ton of hybrids the fishing has gone down with smaller fish. I love hybrids but they eat anything and everything and with the amount of alewives in the lake it makes them hard to target without live bait unlike other lakes in the south. I wish it had more bluebacks in it. If we could get the blueback population up and the Threadfin population back up we could have another lake Lanier. I sure am looking forward to some F1 fillets though:greenjump: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO: They better put more than 2-3000 of em in there though if they really want it to work. Putting 3000 lm in lkn is like pissing in the ocean.
 
Top