F1 Fish Stocking Program?

[jnaumuk]

Anybody have an update on how the F1 bass stockings are going in Jordan, Norman and Gaston? Looks like the webpage hasn't been updated since I 1st visited it and donated a couple years ago. No update on the web page. Anybody still donating? I fish Gaston and I haven't seen anything hardly that's not a spotted bass.

https://www.ncf1bass.org/

[rb]

Made for good bait

[Bassman13]

The F1's have made a big impact on Smith Mountain lake. Several 9's and 10's have been caught in last couple of months.

[juice780]

How do you tell if you caught one?

[Grizzly]

Made for good bait

Plenty of bait in Gaston.

[JohnnyO]

This is the response I got from NC Wildlife

Hello Mr. Orchard,

You can keep an eye on this website for updates and tidbits regarding this project: F1 Stocking Program Overview | NC Wildlife . We will be updating it periodically along the way. You will also see many of the biologists working on the project at tournament weigh-ins between 2026-2029. As these fish get large enough to be bring in with tournament stringers we will be at tournaments in attempts to collect the genetics. Wide-ranging, broad-scale, results will be slow to come and true measures of “success” will not be known until at least 2030-2032 once these fish reach full maturity at 8-10 years old.

We were busy at all three lakes this month trying to re-capture these fish and assess their growth rates. Unfortunately, since there is no certain way to tell an F1 from physical appearances, we have to send a genetic sample of each bass we collect to a lab at Auburn University where the genetic/allele frequency is analyzed. This process takes 10-12 months to complete so each year will have only slightly more info than the last. It will take several more years for us to truly know how well everything is working.

Norman currently has the most years of stockings, whereas Gaston and Jordan both currently only have 2 year classes (2023 & 2024). We assume that all F1s in Jordan and Gaston are likely still less than 14”, however, Norman may have some larger ones since we have been stocking there for a little longer. We will be stocking all three lakes with fingerlings again this June.

More links:


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Hope this helped!
Tight lines!
-Seth M.

Seth Mycko // District 5 Fisheries Biologist <**><
Inland Fisheries Division
NC Wildlife Resources Commission