BY Randy Zellers
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s hatchery and Black Bass Program staff returned 18 healthy, double-digit largemouth bass to lakes across Arkansas in May, marking one of the final steps in the official inaugural year of the Arkansas Legacy Lunker Program.
The fish, donated by Arkansas anglers from January through March, were held at the newly renovated Joe Hogan State Fish Hatchery in Lonoke. There, they enjoyed quiet days and nights with little competition for food or space in raceways segregated by their home watersheds. They remained at the hatchery to spawn with specially selected Titan Maxx Florida bass from Red Hills Fishery in Georgia to maximize the growth potential of their offspring.
“It’s just a really cool program,” Jeremy Risley, AGFC Black Bass Program Coordinator, said. “We’re taking female fish that are proven to grow to trophy size in Arkansas waters and matching them up with males that have the markers to create trophy offspring. By working with Red Hills, we’re cutting years off the development of our trophy bass genetics program.”
Continue reading at agfc.com.
