Lake Ariel PA
570-226-7494
Our selection of brood stock is used to produce the heaviest bass possible. When our bass reach 11 inches in length they usually weigh approximately 1 pound, which is of course extremely plump. Some of our brood stock originated in a colder climate than ours here at the hatchery. This is important for many reasons, first we get an extremely hardy fish that can survive our cold climate thus reducing winter kills. Lastly and just as important is that the original brood stock came from places that do not have a problem with largemouth bass disease, which is now in states south and west of Pennsylvania. There is not much known about this disease and there is currently no known cure.
There are only two strains of largemouth bass in the U.S.
There is a northern largemouth bass that we produce and there is a Florida strain of largemouth bass that we will never produce. There is no largemouth bass strain that has a patent or trademark on the fish itself. There are only largemouth bass that have the name patented or trademarked. We do not use any of these gimmicks to sell our fish.
A very common problem that we hear is “Why have my bass stopped growing to a larger size?” There are usually only 2 reasons this happens: 1) inadequate food in your pond or lake, or 2) the pond or lake has not been stocked in many years. What happens is the gene pool burns itself out, the bass inbreed and eventually become stunted. The answer to this problem is to simply restock your pond or lake. However, if this inbreeding was left unchecked for many years, then the answer may have to be to get rid of the bass and restock with new bass. This is why it is so important to monitor and manage a pond or lake. This problem can also happen to a fish hatchery, especially if selective breeding is not used. This effect is not limited to just largemouth bass and is seen in fish such as yellow perch.