Texas Striped Bass.

Striped bass were first introduced into Texas in 1967, when they were stocked into lakes Navarro, Mills and Bardwell. They can survive in fresh water, and except in Lake Texoma, they normally do not produce enough offspring naturally to maintain their population. TPWD stocks Striped Bass to supplement the natural production and provide additional fishing opportunity. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is keenly aware of the importance of the striped bass and hybrid striped bass fisheries to local economies,” said Gary Saul, TPWD hatcheries chief. “Our staff works around the clock for weeks to produce and stock these fish in order to sustain this valuable fishery.”

  ●  Texas Lake and River Striped Bass Records   ● Rivers in Texas with Striped Bass Fishing.

The striped bass (Morone saxatilis) is the largest member of the temperate bass family. Each year, the Dundee and Possum Kingdom hatcheries produce millions of striped bass and hybrid striped bass (Morone saxatilis x Morone chrysops) for stocking into Texas waters under the direction of Hatchery Program Manager Gerald Kurten. Hybrid Striped Bass are smaller than pure stripers, but they can tolerate a wider range of environmental conditions. For this reason, they are preferred over striped bass for stocking at certain locations. The hybrid striped bass produced at Texas hatcheries is the "original cross," that is, a male white bass is crossed with a female striped bass.

TPWD collects adult brood fish of both species in spring as they are getting ready to spawn. For hybrid production, the hatchery staff mixes white bass milt with striper eggs. Fry are stocked into grow-out ponds at the hatcheries, and some are traded to fishery managers in other states. Fingerlings are harvested and stocked in May and June. Texas hatcheries produce 2.5 to 3 million striped bass and a similar number of hybrid striped bass each year.

The process began with the collection of striped bass males and egg-laden females from the Trinity River at the foot of Livingston Dam in mid-April. The fish are transported in tank trailers to the hatcheries, where TPWD fisheries biologists and technicians continuously monitored the females to determine when the eggs they carried are mature and ready to be spawned.

Technicians then take the eggs from each female striped bass place them in containers while milt from one or more males are added. The eggs and milt are mixed using a turkey feather, and the fertilized eggs are then placed into hatching jars. Large striped bass females are capable of producing as many as a million eggs.

After the fry hatched, most are raised in outdoor ponds to fingerling size, about 1.5 inches long, before being stocked into lakes. Successful management of fingerlings ponds requires constant attention to water quality parameters such as temperature, pH and ammonia concentrations. “The way our hatcheries do the spawning absolutely makes them the leaders in this field,” says Roger McCabe, who retired in June 2005 after heading the Texas striped bass program for a quarter of a century. “As far as stocking for maintaining fisheries is concerned, we have the largest striped bass and hybrid striped bass stocking program in the country.”

Texas Lakes that are stocked with Striped Bass.

Striped Bass stocked in 2009

  • Livingston:

  • Whitney:

  • Amistad:

  • Possum Kingdom:

  • Buchanan:

  • Kemp (Baylor County):

  • Granbury:

  • Lavon:

  • Tawakoni:

  • Travis:

  • Canyon:

  • E. V. Spence:

  • Buffalo Springs:

  • Toledo Bend (Stopped in 2002)

Texas Lakes that are stocked with Hybrid Striped Bass.

  • Richland-Chambers: 413,686

  • Ray Hubbard: 216,814

  • Cedar Creek Reservoir: 215,660

  • Conroe: 201,367

  • Cooper Reservoir: 190,388

  • Tawakoni: 189,557

  • Lewisville: 148,670

  • Belton (Bell County): 124,081

  • Somerville: 101,175

  • Palestine: 101,117

  • Medina: 81,265

  • Bridgeport: 71,788

  • Proctor: 67,524

  • Fort Phantom Hill: 63,400

  • Benbrook: 54,628

  • Bardwell: 47,610

  • Calaveras: 46,643

  • Victor Braunig: 19,517

  • Wichita: 18,666

  • Casa Blanca: 16,061

  • Lone Star: 14,328

  • Graham: 12,867

  • Mackenzie: 9,214

  • Nasworthy: 6,933

  • Lake Georgetown: 6,475

  • Walter E. Long: 6,073

Rivers in Texas with Striped Bass Fishing

  • Brazos River

  • Guadalupe River

  • Rio Grande

  • Sabine River

  • Red River

  • Colorado River

  • Trinity River

Back to Texas Striped Bass Stocked Lakes

Texas Lake and River Striped Bass Records

Rank Water Body Weight (lb.) Length (in.) Date Angler State Record Water Record
1 Brazos River 53 48  05/27/1999 Ron Venerable X  X  
2 Guadalupe River 50 45  11/29/1996 Edward Scott   X  
3 Guadalupe River 49 47  10/27/1996 Shane Ouellette    
4 Rio Grande 46.5 43.5  05/12/1993 Johnny Freeman   X  
5 Guadalupe River 45.81 46.5  02/06/1994 Steven Anzalone    
6 Town Lake 45.5 44.25  03/02/1993 Morris Boyd   X  
7 Amistad 45 44  05/14/1990 Tom J. Reavis   X  
8 Austin 43.55 43  04/16/1986 Wayne Savoie   X  
9 Sabine River 43.31 44  01/27/1990 Ronald G. Kirkland   X  
10 Red River 42.7 43  04/02/2002 Edwin Padua   X  
11 Brazos River 42.66 44  03/28/1995 Skeet Hooks    
12 Red River 40.88 43  04/23/1989 Douglas Norwine    
13 Brazos River 40.4 41.5  05/05/1994 Shane Davies    
14 Rio Grande 40 44  04/20/1986 Dennis Charlton    
15 Guadalupe River 39.9 45.15  02/02/1988 Tod Fulcher    
16 Whitney 39.69 43.25  05/14/1989 Mark Turkali   X  
17 Austin 38.25 41  03/21/1981 Harry Lamb    
18 Lyndon B. Johnson 38.14 42  04/13/1991 Donald Hunziker   X  
19 Canyon 38.12 41.5  04/25/1997 Larry Royer Jr.   X  
20 Amistad 38 41.5  04/14/1988 David O'Keeffe    
21 Inks 37.05 42  02/27/1992 Ronald Neusch   X  
22 Guadalupe River 36.65 43  12/02/2006 John Erskine    
23 Austin 36.25 43.5  05/14/2000 Frank Cruz IV    
24 McQueeney 36.15 45  07/02/1992 Gonzalo Ramos Jr.   X  
25 Austin 36 42  07/13/1990 Frank Cruz IV    
25 Red River 36 41  05/03/1982 W. Lowe Jr.    
27 E. V. Spence 35.13 41.75  04/21/1988 R. L. Flanagan   X  
28 Texoma 35.12 39  04/25/1984 Terry Harber   X  
29 Kemp (Baylor County) 35 39.12  05/07/1989 Danny Foix   X  
29 Colorado River 35 42  06/24/1988 Robin Whalon   X  
31 Inks 34.86 43  04/14/1991 Edward H. Alman, Jr.    
32 E. V. Spence 34.62 43  08/11/1986 Tim Deveny    
33 E. V. Spence 34.5 42  04/19/1991 Tim J. Paul    
34 Red River 34.25 40.5  04/08/2003 Don Lewis    
35 Possum Kingdom 34.19 41  06/10/2000 Lisa Taylor   X  
36 Austin 34 41.75  06/02/1990 Frank Cruz IV    
37 Inks 33.38 42  05/10/1990 James Wood    
38 E. V. Spence 33.25 38  12/28/1989 Joe F. Taylor    
38 Canyon 33.25 41  03/16/1997 Steven Hinds    
40 Toledo Bend 33.22 41  02/08/1980 James Kent Jr   X  
41 Inks 33.13 42  02/02/1991 Raymond J. Theis    
42 Texoma 32.75 38.25  11/20/1978 David Cole    
43 E. V. Spence 32.38 41  04/28/1993 Bruce Brauneck    
44 Toledo Bend 32.12 39.5  11/11/1984 Dick Cain    
45 Toledo Bend 32 39  07/04/1985 Dick Cain    
46 Brazos River 31.75 41  05/28/1993 David Storey    
46 Marble Falls 31.75 45  02/14/1997 Charles Henigan   X  
48 Inks 31.63 41  04/05/1988 Larry Jenkins    
49 Possum Kingdom 31.6 41.5  02/25/1989 Neon Stewart    
50 Livingston 31.5 37  03/30/1986 C. W. Henry   X  

 

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