Trout stocking at Barrett

[falafeluver]

Let’s say it was allowed or could happen, a one-time dropping of raised trouts and would this produce larger largemouth bass?

[TaBASSco]

The trout probably wouldn't be around for as many seasons needed to make a difference. Lakes that a annually stocked are the ones that make a difference.

[Gotfish?]

A yearly stocking of tilapia might. They would eat that nasty filamentous algae that infests the lake in the summer too. They would have to be restocked every year as they die off when the water temperature drops below 55F. The Mexican lakes with the big bass have tilapia (year around though). They grow real fast so only fingerlings would need to be stocked.

[falafeluver]

A yearly stocking of tilapia might. They would eat that nasty filamentous algae that infests the lake in the summer too. They would have to be restocked every year as they die off when the water temperature drops below 55F. The Mexican lakes with the big bass have tilapia (year around though). They grow real fast so only fingerlings would need to be stocked.

Now that’s a very interesting idea!

A possible Lake Baccarac in our own backyard!

[Queue]

Let’s say it was allowed or could happen, a one-time dropping of raised trouts and would this produce larger largemouth bass?

A) Won't happen from CDFW's supply. Limited entry/access, only open in the warmer months, trout are not stocked to feed bass. The City could waste money it doesn't have and buy them if it wanted, but again, open in the warmer months, limited entry etc....

B) Without harvest of bass, and a ~10% food conversion (10 lbs of food consumed converts to 1 lb weight gain) you will see no improvement in larger bass. Most lakes in SoCal are stocked with trout yet trophy bass are few and far between. Trout are not the all-mighty panacea toward attaining trophy bass anglers hope they are.

[JWall]

Let’s say it was allowed or could happen, a one-time dropping of raised trouts and would this produce larger largemouth bass?

A) Won't happen from CDFW's supply. Limited entry/access, only open in the warmer months, trout are not stocked to feed bass. The City could waste money it doesn't have and buy them if it wanted, but again, open in the warmer months, limited entry etc....

B) Without harvest of bass, and a ~10% food conversion (10 lbs of food consumed converts to 1 lb weight gain) you will see no improvement in larger bass. Most lakes in SoCal are stocked with trout yet trophy bass are few and far between. Trout are not the all-mighty panacea toward attaining trophy bass anglers hope they are.

Harvesting bass is the solution! After a recent forum with Barrett junkies and DFW biologists, the competition for forage by the high numbers of bass, many caught and released vs harvested to some degree, is preventing the growth of larger bass in most CA lakes now and especially Barrett. While the catch n release ethic had honorable intentions, there are side effects. And as Queue says, stocking trout there is impractical and too costly for the city.

[falafeluver]

Got it, using expensive trout to make LMB get larger is not a good idea.

What about the thought of putting in small sized tilapia?

The thought of allowed taking LMB is another option as long as there’s limits in both catch amount and minimum length.

But I think most of the angler's fishing Barrett would probably still catch and release with the minority actually taking them back home.

I myself have tried LMB at a friend’s house, which was purchased at a market and both fried and steamed, just wasn’t for me but each their own.

[Queue]

The lake has bluegill, crappie, bass, crayfish, threadfin shad, silverside, bullhead, young waterfowl and insects as forage. There are plenty of forage options available and adding one more isn't going to change the fact there are too many mouths to produce bigger bass. Reduce the predation pressure and the remaining fish will grow bigger and faster.

[Gotfish?]

But none of those eat that nasty filamentous algae.

How about we net a bunch of bass and transfer them to Upper Otay Lake? That was a good lake before the big fish die off.

[JWall]

Got it, using expensive trout to make LMB get larger is not a good idea.

What about the thought of putting in small sized tilapia?

The thought of allowed taking LMB is another option as long as there’s limits in both catch amount and minimum length.

But I think most of the angler's fishing Barrett would probably still catch and release with the minority actually taking them back home.

I myself have tried LMB at a friend’s house, which was purchased at a market and both fried and steamed, just wasn’t for me but each their own.

Think you are right that most of us would continue to catch n release. I do think there would be enough of a harvest from those wanting that to make a dent tho. And I also agree bass is one of my least favorite tasting fish. It always seemed to taste muddy or sandy to me.

[Queue]

But none of those eat that nasty filamentous algae.

How about we net a bunch of bass and transfer them to Upper Otay Lake? That was a good lake before the big fish die off.

Water quality readings show that Upper Otay has had little to no oxygen for most of the year over the last several years. Fish need oxygen...

[Gotfish?]

But none of those eat that nasty filamentous algae.

How about we net a bunch of bass and transfer them to Upper Otay Lake? That was a good lake before the big fish die off.

Water quality readings show that Upper Otay has had little to no oxygen for most of the year over the last several years. Fish need oxygen...

Where did you find that information?

I had guessed the big fish kill of a few years ago was due to insecticide run off or something like that.

Might be too much nutrients in the water from runoff of lawns an agriculture, that can cause low oxygen. There is appears to be no outlet to the lake (at its current level) so pollutants can build up.

[camobass]

Quit throwing senkos and start throwing bigger swimbaits in deeper water and secondary points. The bigger models are in there. Not going to get your high numbers but your size will improve a lot.

[Gotfish?]

Numbers matter.

[Gotfish?]

Years ago, I was kicking back to the car at Barrett around 6 pm and off of Desolation Point in the deeper water, probably about 20'. I had a good day, with 40+ fish. I saw a guy who had been fishing that area all day and asked how he had done. He said he only caught 7 bass but they were all over 7 lbs and on big swimbaits. I could be off slightly on the numbers, it was many years ago. Could have been Camo, I don't know. Everybody else was catching the plentiful 1-2 lb fish from the bank.

Last year, I caught many fish that looked well fed but also some with the big heads and skinny bodies. Seemed like the bigger ones were all well fed. Bass are cannibalistic so the big ones will eat the little guys. I did not see any shad the whole time last year, unlike most years. I made about 4 trips to the lake, in July-August timeframe. I prefer that time of the year as it is easy to get spots and most people get off the lake before it gets hot so it isn't crowded at all in the afternoon.

Any ecosystem with dominant predator-prey relationships tends to have population cycles. So if the shad were sparse last year, they will bounce back this year or maybe the next. The hare-lynx is probably the best known cycle: https://www.ealt.ca/blog/hare-vs-lynx-cycle .

Numbers are not bad: "quantity has a quality all of its own" (famous quote).

I still want something in the lake to eat that snotty algae. Hate that stuff.

[falafeluver]

@camobass, when you say tossing the bigger swim baits, what size’s are they? Thanks!

[camobass]

68 hudd and 8” trash fish works well casting off the points into deep water. Work the bait up hill on the points. I tube so my fins are on the ground when working points. 6” glides and gill type glides work great casting into the rock bluffs. Also don’t discount big top water. Big rats work well there too.
Numbers are fun. I don’t discourage going out and catching large numbers of fish tight to the bank. There are bigger models that can be in tight but most of the fish are juvenile that are tight to shore.
I usually fish Barrett multiple times a year. First trip for me, I’ll go for the numbers, it’s fun. After that, I focus the rest of the season throwing big baits deep. There’s big fish in that lake. Electronics work great but go back in history on google earth and study the extreme low water level years and get familiar with the secondary points, subtle structure and drop offs.

[Queue]

But none of those eat that nasty filamentous algae.

How about we net a bunch of bass and transfer them to Upper Otay Lake? That was a good lake before the big fish die off.

Water quality readings show that Upper Otay has had little to no oxygen for most of the year over the last several years. Fish need oxygen...

Where did you find that information?

I had guessed the big fish kill of a few years ago was due to insecticide run off or something like that.

Might be too much nutrients in the water from runoff of lawns an agriculture, that can cause low oxygen. There is appears to be no outlet to the lake (at its current level) so pollutants can build up.

Water quality monitoring multiple times showed no oxygen.

[Gotfish?]

There is a lake that is unintentionally managed for big bass. Lake Biwa in Japan has a kill policy for bass caught (considered an invasive fish) and the biologists actually send boats out to shock and kill bass. The largest LMB ever caught was in Lake Biwa. While the bass are very large there, they are also very hard to catch. Because the bass are routinely killed, there is a large abundance of forage so bass get quite large. So this is probably your best spot to catch a bass over 10 lbs but you might only get one bass that day.



https://www.google.com/search?q=lake+bi ... e&ie=UTF-8

On the fun side, here is a technique to catch bass that follow lures to the boat: .