Message from Chuck

“I have fished Lake Gaston for over 40 years and have seen the lake change from producing many trophy Largemouth Bass on an annual basis to very few today. The largest bass caught in Lake Gaston to date weighed in over 14lbs. As a tourney angler for over 40 years. I have seen the time where if you did not have a 9 or 10 pounder to weigh in, you had no chance of winning the big fish award. Today, if you catch a 5 pounder, you have a good chance of winning the big fish award. So what has changed? It could be many reasons, but one thing we know, our genetics in the Largemouth Bass are no longer what we thought it was.

Today, with DNA testing, NC Wildlife has sample our largemouth genetics on Lake Gaston and the DNA collected showed their composition was 78 percent Northern strain and 22 percent Florida strain. Not the desired result. The desired result is 50/50 composition.

Years ago when lakes were first stocked, wildlife had to rely on the hatcheries to tell them what they were stocking and no way to tell the DNA makeup, but today is a different day. They are able to determine if the stockings are the true F1 Largemouth Bass desired.

We are starting out with three lakes that will be stocked with the F1 Largemouth. Lake Gaston, Lake Norman, and Jordan Lake. Our goal is to help NC Wildlife begin to fix the genetic make of the Largemouth Bass in these lakes first with anticipation of other lakes in the near future. We are hoping for the return on many 8 to 10 pounders in the near future. I look forward to working with all recreational and tournament anglers and trails, and other conservationist parties to make our NC lakes the best in the country!”

Chuck Murray, President