DNR Trying to Increase Largemouth Bass Population at Lake Allatoona
Jim Hakala / Georgia DNR
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has begun a six-year experiment at Lake Allatoona it hopes will increase the number of largemouth bass in the lake.An audio version of this story
Over the years, the population has declined from as high as half the black bass population in the lake to less than 20%.
Jim Hakala, a DNR fisheries biologist, says there are a couple of different theories as to why. “Could be just habitat changes: just habitats becoming more suitable for spotted bass,” said Hakala. “It could also be competition with the spotted bass in the lake.”
Since anglers prefer the largemouth bass, the DNR is hoping to give them a fin up by stocking Allatoona with some 250,000 fingerlings — baby fish — each year for the next three years as well 6,000-8,000 bigger largemouths.
The DNR will monitor the fish for three years after that to see if the largemouth population returns to historical levels.
The total cost of the project is $90,000 with all of the new fish coming from state fish hatcheries.
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