Louisiana Game-Changer: The Red River is Being Rebuilt for Trophy Bass

The Red River Waterway Commission along with Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, have just taken another quantum leap in an effort to improve the Red River fishery in Northwest Louisiana.

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Recently, LDWF took to social media to let the public know that they had teamed with the Commission to stock an additional 31,500 Florida x Northern bass, from four to six inches in length, in pool 5 of the Red River.

Through a cooperative agreement with LDWF, the Red River Waterway Commission purchased the fish from the American Sportfish Hatchery of Montgomery, Alabama, to enhance the bass population in the Red River.

Anglers might recall the tremendous bass stocking efforts by the RRWC and LDWF just a couple years ago in 2023, when they strategically released 100,000 bass fingerlings into Pools 1-5 of the Red River.

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Of those fingerlings, 90% or 90,000 were Florida bass and the remaining 10% or 10,000 were true F1 "Tiger Bass."

What's The Difference Between a "Florida Bass" And An "F-1 Tiger Bass"?

Americansportfish.com has this to say about these Tiger Bass which have been known to be extremely aggressive and relatively easy to catch by bass fishermen on artificial lures.  Describing these fish, Americansportfish.com continues, "Created by our team of scientists, the Tiger Bass® has been specially bred for aggressiveness and fast growth. In well-managed lakes, they have consistently gained more than two pounds per year. Biologists refer to this fish as a true F-1, because it is a cross between two pure subspecies of bass: a special strain of aggressive Northern Bass and a pure strain of Florida Bass that comes from a proven trophy line. American Sport Fish is the only hatchery licensed to produce and sell the Tiger Bass."

The site goes on to say that "Our Tiger Bass have already gained weight of 15 pounds in eight years. We expect them to break state records in the next several years."

Louisiana Has Just Announced The New Louisiana Black Bass Management Plan

For those unaware, LDWF has just outlined the new Louisiana Black Bass Management Plan, and this recent stocking is a great sign of their commitment to this incredible resource.

The RRWC has stated that the goal of these stockings are to establish the Florida bass genetics to the population and provide and overall improvement to the fishery which was essentially decimated after the high water flood events of 2015 and 2016.

This is incredible news for area anglers who long for the days when Red River was an amazing fishery.