Largemouth bass or black bass are the most common game fish stocked in Texas lakes. The native largemouth bass, Florida largemouth bass, or crosses of the two are most commonly stocked. In most situations bass need to be stocked in lakes at least one surface acre or larger. In smaller lakes maintaining proper forage fish populations becomes difficult and expensive. The most common forage fish for largemouth bass is bluegill sunfish. Using a diverse food chain of bluegill sunfish, redear sunfish, fathead minnows, and golden shiner minnows can prove to be very beneficial in initial stocking. Forage fish such as threadfin shad, tilapia, and large bluegill sunfish can be beneficial options for supplemental forage stocking. 

Crappie in general are difficult to manage in most private lakes. Usually crappie will overpopulate and eventually exhibit stunted growth.  Using black crappie is somewhat safer because they tend to reproduce less than white crappie.  The use of a hybrid crappie a cross between black x white is considered to reproduce even less then the pure strains. However, it is recommended to attempt stocking crappie into lakes only after thoroughly discussing the possible outcomes of crappie stocking. 

Channel catfish are a fairly easy to manage fish. Channel catfish can be stocked in any size lake. They rarely affect forage fish populations as they are slow swimmers. The most common forage fish used with channel catfish are fathead minnows. Channel catfish should not be stocked alone with forage fish such as bluegill sunfish or golden shiner minnows. These forage fish will reproduce too often and cannot be efficiently captured by channel catfish. Channel catfish eat a diet containing insects, mollusk, crustaceans, fish, and some vegetation. 

Blue catfish are much more aggressive than channel catfish. They also swim faster and grow larger. The blue catfish is considered a good tool to control populations of bluegill sunfish in small ponds. However, stocking blue catfish with largemouth bass is not recommended because the two species will directly compete for food. 

Hybrid Striped Bass can be a great tool to control bluegill sunfish or crappie populations. In most cases the hybrid striped bass stocked in lakes will be a feed trained fish which will consume a floating pelleted fish food. The stocking of hybrid striped bass should be done only after discussing the possible outcome of their addition to a stocking program. 

Rainbow trout can be a fun short term game fish to be stocked during the winter. Rainbow trout usually are feed trained and will eat a floating fish food pellet. They will not survive the Texas summer and usually die at 70 degrees, therefore they are a winter only option and must be restocked yearly. 

Triploid Grass Carp or White Amur are one of the best management tools to control vegetation eating 40-300% of their body weight in vegetation a day. These fish are sterilized by a shock treatment to a fertilized egg. Only sterile triploid grass carp are allowed to be stocked in Texas. To purchase grass carp you must first apply to the State of Texas for a grass carp permit. After the approval of the application Triploid Grass Carp can be purchased only from designated companies determined by the State. Grass Carp can be used to control most submerged vegetation effectively, however algae is not a preferred food for grass carp. Grass Carp can be stocked at 10 fish per surface acre to control dense vegetation. If grass carp are stocked in a moderate to low vegetated lake then 7 fish per acre can be effective. Before applying for a grass carp permit a barrier must be installed on all spillways, drainage pipes, or other areas where water may leave your lake. Please feel free to contact me at any time with application or barrier questions. To download the triploid grass carp application please click the link below. 

Coppernose Bluegill Sunfish are the most commonly stocked forage fish in Texas. Bluegill are also referred to as perch or bream. The Coppernose bluegill are selected for their rapid growth, maximum growth, and high reproductive rates. Coppernose bluegill can grow to 2 lbs, if given floating fish food. Naturally bluegill sunfish eat mainly aquatic insects. These bluegill also reproduce multiple times throughout the Spring, Summer, and early Fall. These fish will reach maturity at two years old or approximately 3 inches. Bluegill can also make great game fish when managed correctly. 

Redear Sunfish or Shellcrackers are excellent at controlling snail populations in lakes. Snails are found in almost every lake in Texas. Most of these snails carry parasites such as yellow grubs. Yellow grub eggs come from water birds. These eggs hatch and become free swimming grubs that will die within hours if a snail host is not found. The yellow grub grows inside the snail then leaves its snail host to find fish. Once a fish host is found the grub will burrow into the skin, gills, and muscles of fish and finally multiply. The yellow grub is not usually deadly to the fish host. Redear sunfish also make excellent game fish as they can become larger than their bluegill relatives.

Fathead minnows are a common forage fish used in almost all initial stocking programs. These slow swimming minnows can reproduce up to 12 times per summer having as many as 12,000 eggs per nest. Although they have a high reproductive potential they do not last long in the presence of bass, crappie, blue catfish, or hybrid stripes. Therefore it is usually important to add additional forage species when stocking for aggressive game species. 

Golden Shiner Minnows are the most common baitfish used in Texas and sold at almost every bait store. Golden shiners can also make good forage fish because they can grow large, up to 8 inches. This makes some adult shiners too large to be captured by bass for many years. Golden shiners feed on diverse food sources such as vegetation, insects, and snails. 

Hybrid Bluegill Sunfish are a cross between bluegill and green sunfish. Green sunfish have larger mouths and eat varies food types. These fish are not a good option for stocking with bass, crappie, or blue catfish because they have reduced reproductive success compared to bluegill. However they can be stocked with channel catfish because they will not tend to overpopulate. 

Threadfin Shad are the favorite forage fish of most game fish. Threadfin grow to a maximum size of about 7 inches. They feed directly on phytoplankton. Threadfin begin to reproduce when water temperature reaches 70 degrees and will continue throughout the summer. These fish are somewhat temperature intolerant and tend to die around 42 degrees. If winter waters temperature do fall below 42 degrees it will be recommended to restock threadfin shad. 

Tilapia species such as Blue, Nile, Mozambique, and all their crosses can be stocked into private lakes in Texas. These fish eat various types of vegetation especially algae and duckweed. Tilapia can also feed on some submerged vegetation, phytoplankton, and floating fish food. They also reproduce multiple times throughout the summer making them an excellent supplemental forage fish. In addition to being excellent forage fish, and vegetation control tilapia can also be considered a game fish. However, all tilapia species cannot survive the winter temperatures in Texas and tend to die below water temperatures of 50 degrees. Tilapia will need to be restocked every spring.