Freshwater Fish Hatcheries

Louisiana’s freshwater fish hatcheries are an integral part of LDWF’s mission to enhance fish populations and provide more opportunities for the public to use and enjoy these resources. Having the ability to produce and stock areas with healthy sportfish from our hatcheries is a valuable tool that helps reach management goals, such as meeting public demand for catching a trophy bass in Louisiana waterbodies.

LDWF operates four warm-water sportfish hatcheries: Booker Fowler and Beechwood Fish Hatcheries in Forest Hill, Monroe Fish Hatchery in Monroe, and Huey P. Long Fish Hatchery in Lacombe.  These hatcheries work together to meet annual statewide stocking requests from our management biologists for Florida Bass, Hybrid Striped Bass, Black and White Crappie, Channel Catfish, Bluegill, Redear, Threadfin Shad, and other species as needed. 

Florida Bass Stocking

Louisiana anglers love to fish for Largemouth Bass, especially quality or trophy- size bass. To increase the chances of a Louisiana angler catching a larger bass, LDWF biologists produce and stock Florida Bass.    Native to Florida, the Florida Bass naturally hybridizes with Louisiana’s native bass.  Under ideal growing conditions and where they can live long enough, Florida Bass can grow up to twice the size as Louisiana’s native Largemouth Bass.  For this reason, LDWF has widely stocked Florida Bass into Louisiana waters since the 1980’s in an effort to enhance the size potential of our native Largemouth Bass populations.  Original cross hybrids (pure Florida Bass x Largemouth bass) have a better chance of exhibiting this increased size potential than subsequent generation hybrids, which is why LDWF hatcheries maintain and stock only pure Florida Bass for the purpose of increasing the trophy potential of a waterbody. 

LDWF does not stock Florida Bass to increase the numbers of bass in a waterbody.  Although the number of bass produced at LDWF hatcheries is high (generally around two and a half million per year), those numbers pale in comparison to what Mother Nature produces in Louisiana’s waterbodies.  As such, LDWF stocks Florida Bass to enhance the size potential of the native Largemouth Bass populations by integrating the larger growing Florida Bass genes into those populations.  Biologists measure the success of stocking by applying several years of stocking Florida Bass at an effective and consistent rate, then randomly sampling the population to measure the percent of Florida Bass influence present in the population.  They also monitor the presence of large bass in the population through their sampling efforts and through angler-reported catches. 

Integrating Florida Bass genes into existing native Louisiana Largemouth Bass populations to an extent noticed by anglers can be a difficult and complex process.  There are numerous challenges, including predation of the fingerlings by other fish (including bass), physical characteristics of the waterbody, inconsistent water levels, growth and mortality characteristics of the existing bass populations, competition from naturally produced fingerlings for the same food and space, and susceptibility of the waterbody to harmful weather events.  Years of stocking in large open systems, such as the Atchafalaya Basin, and in open coastal areas of Louisiana have proven unsuccessful due to the sheer size of these systems, and due to the challenging conditions that bass endure to stay alive in these systems.   In locations where stocking Florida Bass into existing bass populations is successful, repeated stocking efforts are required to maintain the influence of favorable Florida genetics.

To produce bass in captivity, hatchery workers place males and females in large concrete raceways with artificial nests for the fish to lay and fertilize their eggs. Hatchery workers collect the eggs and move them to incubation tanks where they hatch into fry (baby fish). In a few days the fry grow and begin searching for zooplankton to eat.  They are then moved to prepared ponds teeming with zooplankton where they continue to grow until they reach fingerling size (1.5-2”) for stocking.  Hatchery workers then distribute the fingerlings around the state according to a previously approved prioritized list.

With a limited supply of Florida largemouth bass available for stocking each year, it is important to place them in waterbodies that provide good conditions for survival and growth. LDWF prioritizes stocking waterbodies where this fisheries management tool has demonstrated success.  Biologists periodically sample bass populations in stocked lakes to determine how often maintenance stockings are needed.  LDWF fisheries biologists from each management district prioritize and submit requests for Florida Bass fingerlings annually.  Sometimes, due to the production process, the hatchery has surplus Florida Bass fry available for stocking.  These surplus fry can be used to stock lower priority areas or to supplement fingerling requests.

Under conditions where bass have ample and appropriate food, habitat, and water quality, Florida Bass stocking has been very successful and has resulted in nearly doubling the state record bass since stocking began in the 1980’s.