Almost 1.3 million Florida-strain bass were released into Lake Verret, Grassy Lake and Lake Palourde between 1993 and 2011, according to the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries.
Another 5.6 million Floridas were stocked inside the Basin’s levees between 1992 and 2009, the agency’s records show.
But, while most anglers hoped the fast-growing Florida gene would be introduced into the native populations of fish, LDWF sampling indicates it that never materialized in a substantial way.
Only about 10 percent of Lake Verret bass sampled and a mere 5 percent of bass sampled inside the Basin levees exhibited the gene, according to LDWF documents.
