'Only time will tell': Will Tiger Bass be the answer to growing bigger bass in Grand Lake?
In hopes of producing bigger largemouth bass in Grand Lake O' the Cherokees, state wildlife officials have recently stocked 93,000 "Tiger Bass" fingerlings in the northeastern Oklahoma reservoir.
What is a Tiger Bass? Well, the name “Tiger Bass” is a registered trademark of the American Sport Fish Hatchery in Alabama.
The name refers to the specific cross developed at the commercial hatchery, using a strain of aggressive, pure northern largemouth bass bred with a strain of proven trophy Florida largemouth bass.
The Tiger Bass stocked in Grand Lake are a cross of true F1 (first generation) Florida largemouth bass and northern largemouth bass.
Tiger Bass have a better tolerance for colder water temperatures than Florida largemouth bass, but retain the growth potential of Florida largemouth bass.
Grand Lake is already considered one of the best bass fishing lakes in the country, maybe the best for a reservoir that doesn't have grass. It hosts more major bass tournaments than any other lake in the state.
"It's a big draw to the state of Oklahoma," said Josh Johnston, northeast region fisheries supervisor for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, of the bass fishing on Grand Lake.
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Trying to grow big bass
What Grand Lake lacks is really big bass, 8- to 10-pound fish and larger. Anglers have been clamoring for bigger bass in Grand Lake for years and state wildlife officials are listening.
Northern largemouth bass are native to Grand Lake and the lake is full of 4- and 5-pounders. A 7-pound bass from Grand Lake is considered a real trophy.
Over the years, the Wildlife Department has added Florida fingerlings to Grand Lake in hopes of growing trophy-size bass with little success.
While the Florida strain bass has produced the desired big fish in southern Oklahoma lakes, Grand Lake seems to be too far north for the Florida fingerlings to survive and thrive.
"Since 1980, we put Florida fingerlings in (Grand Lake) for 20 years and it didn't work," Johnston said.
In recent years, the Wildlife Department has even stocked some Florida bass larger than fingerling-size in hopes they will take off. The jury is still out on that experiment.
Now, they're experimenting with Tiger Bass.
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Kevin VanDam gets the ball rolling
The Tiger Bass project was the impetus of bass pro angler and four-time Bassmaster Classic champion Kevin VanDam, who won a 2018 Bassmaster Elite Series Tournament on Grand Lake.
Through his foundation, VanDam was the first to donate $5,000 to the Wildlife Department for the addition of Tiger Bass in Grand Lake.
With VanDam's support, the Wildlife Department quickly was able to raise an additional $35,000 from private donors to buy the 93,000 fingerlings of Tiger Bass from the Alabama hatchery, which amounts to two fish per acre for Grand Lake.
Johnston said studies at the hatchery show the Tiger Bass grow fast, but that is in a controlled hatchery environment where the fish are well-fed and kept in warm water.
"Their (trophy) potential is there," he said. "There is not a lot of evidence out there what (they) can do in a natural system when you get pretty far north."
Johnston said he would like to stock Tiger Bass fingerlings in Grand Lake for each of the next 10 years, if the agency can afford it. The initial stocking was paid through entirely private donations and more likely would be needed to continue the project.
"I would love to continue to put two per acre," he said. "You got to find the money. Basically, we've got to have some outside interest. These big tournaments that come here, if they feel like they want to give back to Grand Lake, this is a way to do it."
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'Only time will tell'
How long before there is an answer if Tiger Bass took hold in Grand Lake?
"That's a tough question," Johnston said. "We know their potential. We don't know what they will do in a different climate. I would love to say five or six years from now we should see some big bass in tournaments that are 8 pounds, but I don't know if that is possible.
"Their potential is really good, but their growth window at this northern climate is slower. I think in the next few years we will be able to talk about survival (of Tiger Bass) and things like that."
Johnston said Tiger Bass should not die if the water temperature gets below 40 degrees, "but are they going to grow to 13 pounds in northeastern Oklahoma? That's the part that only time will tell."
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Edmond man named to museum board
Miles Hall of Edmond has been appointed by Gov. Kevin Stitt as a board commissioner for the J.M. Davis Arms and Historical Museum in Claremore.
Hall and his wife, Jayne, founded H&H Shooting Sports in Oklahoma City. They sold their share of the business in 2016. Hall now works as a consultant in the shooting sports industry.
The J.M. Davis Arms and Historical Museum is the world's largest privately held arms museum with 11,000 weapons and more than 50,000 artifacts.
Reporter Ed Godfrey looks for stories that impact your life. Be it news, outdoors, sports — you name it, he wants to report it. Have a story idea? Contact him at egodfrey@oklahoman.com or on Twitter @EdGodfrey. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Will Tiger Bass be answer to bigger fish in Oklahoma's Grand Lake?
