AGFC staff stock close to 400,000 northern Largemouth Bass fingerlings throughout the river each year in an
attempt to boost the number of Largemouth Bass in the river (table 1 below). Because of the large number of
Largemouth Bass stocked in the Arkansas River, and the fact that most states have ceased stocking these fish
in reservoirs, in most years AGFC stocks more northern Largemouth Bass than any other U.S. state game and fish agency.




Table 1: 2020 Northern Largemouth Bass stockings on the Arkansas River, by river pool.

AGFC has a completely different objective for stocking Florida Largemouth Bass. The intent of these stockings is to replace naturally spawned fish, not to increase numbers. Survival of Florida Largemouth Bass fingerlings to their first birthday tends to be very low; however, low survival can still improve Largemouth Bass genetics because some of the native fish are replaced by the stocked Florida Largemouth Bass, which have proven to have faster growth rates and longer lifespans when stocked in suitable habitat.




Where does AGFC stock Florida Largemouth Bass?AGFC biologists have determined that the best lakes
for Florida Largemouth Bass tend to be in the southern part of the state, where the lakes are more likely
to be shallower, vegetated, more fertile, and have a longer growing season. AGFC hatcheries raise about
2 million Florida Largemouth Bass each year, and these fingerlings are stocked in waterbodies that biologists
have determined provide the best conditions for producing trophy fish. In fact, most of these waters were
known to produce good numbers of bass up to 8-lbs before they were stocked with Florida Largemouth Bass.
With these stockings, the hope is to increase the numbers of fish that size and larger.