TPWD Shocks Up Big Bass at Lake Ray Hubbard
Recent electrofishing surveys conducted by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Inland Fisheries biologists turned up a surprising number of big largemouth bass in Lake Ray Hubbard.
TPWD’s Inland Fisheries district office in Fort Worth is responsible for managing and monitoring Lake Ray Hubbard’s fishery. Each fall they conduct a nighttime electrofishing survey on Lake Ray Hubbard. Electrofishing, commonly known as “shocking,” uses electricity to temporarily stun fish, which are then collected using dipnets, measured and weighed.
The two-night survey consisted of 24 randomly selected stations around the shoreline of the lake. Each area was electrofished for five minutes and all target species, which included shad, sunfish and black bass, were collected.
Despite low water levels, this year’s survey revealed record catch rates for largemouth bass over 14 inches. Incredibly, the best five fish weighed 34.62 lbs. That is not bad for a lake within easy driving distance for many DFW area anglers.
Most big fish were collected along the many areas of riprap found around the lake. The two biggest fish were each 23 inches long and weighed 8.1 and 7.2 pounds.
Ray Hubbard continues to be a great spot for sportfishing and has produced two Toyota ShareLunkers, fish weighing 13 pounds or more. The most recent ShareLunker entry was in 2003.
Because of its big fish history and good habitat, Ray Hubbard has been stocked annually with Florida largemouth bass since 2010. This year TPWD added another 502,264 fingerlings with expectations that the Florida influence will produce even more big fish.