Articles

Animal Bass

Tiger & Gorilla Bass

By John Phillips

Reproduced with the exclusive permission of Bass West Magazine, Please Click on the Bass West Enhanced banner to subscribe.

Anglers get ready. The fishing industry has big, mean and always-hungry animal bass running rampant through it. One of the animal bass, the Tiger Bass, bites so aggressively that at White Oak Plantation near Tuskegee, Alabama, Robert Pitman, the owner, has a sign at his pond that says "Fishermen Beware of Tiger Bass." Biologists have bred the Tiger bass and the Gorilla bass, some of the most-aggressive, fastest-growing, longest-living, angler-pleasing bass ever. How? By improving their genetic traits, just like racehorse owners breed thoroughbreds for speed.

Would you enjoy catching 30 to 40 bass an hour every time you went fishing? Would you like those bass to weigh 2 to 5 pounds each or more? Would you not want weather or water temperatures to affect these bass? Then pond owners should make way for stocking these Tigers and Gorillas.

Beware The Gorilla

Several years ago, Dr. Gary Garrett, at the Heart of the Hills Research Station in east/central Texas, started studying aggression in northern largemouth bass. His research proved that biologists could breed a bass that would bite better by passing down through generations of fish the trait of aggressive feeding.

Garrett learned that if he bred an aggressive female northern bass with an aggressive male northern bass they would produce aggressive offspring that anglers could catch easily. His research also proved that if he bred a difficult-to-catch northern male bass to a difficult-to-catch northern female bass, then fishermen would have a very hard time taking their offspring.

Biologists like Don Keller and Barry Smith at American Sport Fish in Montgomery, Alabama, have found that by continuing to breed aggressive bass with aggressive bass, the offspring become even more and more aggressive. Keller and Smith have named these super-aggressive northern largemouth bass that they've bred selectively for aggression for 15 years "Gorilla bass." Today these Gorillas have much faster growth rates than average northern bass, and bite much more readily. However, the Gorilla bass still don't live as long, or grow as big, as the Florida strain of largemouths.

Enter The Tiger

For years, biologists have crossed northern-strain largemouths with Florida-strain largemouths to produce the F-1 hybrid. The F-1 hybrid will grow faster and bite more readily than the Florida strain. However, this hybrid doesn't bite as readily as the northern strain.

Smith and Keller wondered what would happen if they used the super-aggressive strain of northern Gorilla bass they had developed, and bred it with a pure-strain Florida. Could they produce a more-aggressive-than-average F-1 hybrid? This breeding program did produce a superior F-1 hybrid, the Tiger bass.

Teaching To Eat

Smith and Keller also recognized that teaching their Gorilla and Tiger bass to take pelleted food would increase the weights of those fish.

"Feed-trained bass can solve several major problems for growing and catching bass," says Smith. "One of the biggest problems of growing bass quickly has been providing enough food for the bass to reach their maximum weight potential. However, since we've learned the techniques of training bass to take high-protein pelleted fishmeal, we've been able to supplementally feed the Gorilla and Tiger bass to tremendously accelerate their growth rates and catchability."

Catchability means that when the feeder goes off, the bass will bite. But whether or not the feeder goes off, if you stock either feed-trained Tigers or Gorillas, these two strains will bite artificial lures and live bait more readily than either the Florida or northern largemouths.

Smith explains, "By using supplemental feeding, we have Tiger bass obtaining weights of 8 pounds in three years, and Tiger bass that weigh from 4 to 6 pounds each within two years. The good news is, these Tiger bass and Gorilla bass will bite readily." Stock Public Waters?

Since Tiger and Gorilla bass live longer, grow faster and bite artificial lures more aggressively than their northern cousins, you may wonder why only private pond and lake owners stock them. The animal bass cost more to produce and stock than either the northern- or the Florida-strain bass. Because the animal bass bite more aggressively than the other two strains, anglers would likely catch these bass first in public waters and perhaps eat them. Most private-pond owners prefer to catch and release the Tiger and the Gorilla bass, allowing them to breed and continue to produce more-aggressive bass in their ponds.

Since you can't tell by looking at a northern, a Florida, a Gorilla and a Tiger which bass is which, how do you know their pedigrees? "To differentiate between Tiger and Gorilla bass and other bass, we fin-clip our animal bass," Smith explains. "That way, an angler can quickly and easily identify these two genetically-superior strains of bass from either the northern or the Florida strains they may have in their ponds."

If you choose to, you should stock new ponds with Tigers or Gorillas when the pond is first built. However, if you have a pre-existing pond, you don't have to drain it and wait for the animal bass to grow up.

"We've found that stocking as few as 10 1 1/2- to 2-pound Tiger or Gorilla bass into an already existing bass population increases the catch rate of bass in that pond," Smith says. "The Tiger or the Gorilla bass will begin to compete with the native bass for food. The native bass learn that they need to feed more aggressively, or they won't get much to eat."

I've fished for and caught and released Tiger bass and Gorilla bass in three Alabama ponds. At White Oak Plantation in Tuskegee, Alabama, Jeff Walker of Birmingham and I caught and released over 100 Tiger bass that weighed from 2 to 5 pounds each in eight hours. At my brother Archie's private pond near Birmingham, Alabama, where we live, I rarely catch and release less than 30 bass an hour any day I fish for them. At the lakes of Leavellwood in West Greene, Alabama, my son John and I have stood on the dock and taken five bass that weigh from 2 1/2 to 5 pounds each in two hours. So I've seen the results of successfully stocking Tiger and Gorilla bass, and have experienced the excitement of catching these hard-fighting fish.

No longer do bass anglers have to go fishing and hope they'll catch bass. If you're fishing in a pond that has Tigers or Gorillas in it, you'll catch plenty of bass-- probably more bass than you've ever caught in your life.

Fisheries biologists have learned what farmers, ranchers and livestock breeders have known for many years. Through years of careful, selective breeding, biologists can breed into cattle, horses, chickens, goats and now bass the most-desired characteristics and traits they want those animals to possess.

Anglers have always dreamed of fishing for bass that will bite aggressively, grow quickly and live to the older age-classes. The new Tiger and Gorilla bass have made this dream a reality. If the fish won't bite in your farm pond or private lake, consider stocking animal bass.

To learn more about Tiger and Gorilla bass, you can email Barry Smith at American Sport Fish, barryw@direcway.com, or call him at (334) 271-4996. For more information on Leavellwood, contact: P.O. Box 24, West Greene, AL 35491; (205) 372-2323; leavellwood.com. For more information on White Oak Plantation, contact: 5215 County Road 10, Tuskegee, AL 36083; (334) 727-9258; whiteoakplantation.com.

A Brief History of Bass Chasers

    Bass Chasers was founded in 2003 by fishing buddies, Tim Ackal and Charley Workman. They first met in San Antonio, TX back in 2000 while attending the Navy's Master-at-Arms "A" school at Lackland, Air Force Base. Tim recalls, "Every afternoon or evening after class, Charley and I would go bass fishing". Since those days they both have moved on to ultimate duty stations in the Virginia Beach area. It didn't take long for them to start learning the local area waters.

    They used to team up as a trio with close friend and fishing buddy Michael McGrath before Mike relocated due to his Marine Corps obligations. During those fishing trips the three buddies had many conversations over fishing tournaments. It was Mike that ventured out first and began competing with Bass Jons. Soon after that Tim decided to fish as a guest with Bass Jons, but both soon realized that staying competitive in the local circuits was tough because of military obligations. Tim and Mike were serving together onboard the USS Wasp and Charley was onboard the USS Harry S. Truman.

   The three continued to fish together on days off until they decided to start their own fishing tournaments. Their idea at first was to cater to military personnel and fish freshwater lakes on the military installations. They began operations in 2005 with their first tournament being held on Lake Bradford, which is located on NAB Little Creek. They soon realized that catering to military personnel was not the way to go due to a lack of participation. The itch to lure more anglers was greater than ever, so Tim and Charley decided to open up to the public. In an attempt to draw attention to their own tournaments, they began joining local clubs such as Bass Jons, Back Bay Bass Anglers, Rule 9 and fishing open tournament trails such as the Boot Legg.

   Tim and Charley not only drew the attention of local anglers, they got the attention of Teresa Uminn of the USO of Hampton Roads and soon became partners hosting a USO Benefit Bass Tournament. Their first tournament was such a success that the USO asked for another tournament. Their first season ended on a good note with over 90 some anglers participating in Bass Chasers tournaments. Still Tim wanted more and understood why their draw was so much lower than he would have liked. Bass Chasers policy to only schedule tournaments when no other club or trail was fishing sounded like a good idea, but it became apparent that only the hardcore fishermen would show up.

   In 2006 Tim and Charley suffered a setback when Lake Smith one of Virginia Beach's best fishing lakes was closed to the public due to a pending sale from Norfolk to Virginia Beach. Unable to join the other clubs and trails in the off season to schedule tournaments for the year they decided they would run operations much the same as the previous year. This was not something Tim liked and his wheels began spinning on how to make a recovery.

   Following the message boards on Bass Jons website Tim listened to the complaining about Lake Smith being closed. Tim recalls, "Everyone was complaining, but it wasn't solving anything". Tim decided to take matters into his own hands. He made phone calls to Norfolk and Virginia Beach officials and soon wrote a letter to both in an attempt to get Lake Smith open. After some negotiations and Bass Chasers volunteering to adopt the Lake Smith Fishing Station, Virginia Beach and Norfolk officials agreed to open Lake Smith to the public.

   Tim and Charley began scrambling to put some tournaments together mostly on Lake Smith because of the popularity of the lake. Before long other clubs and trails' regular tournaments started and numbers for Bass Chasers tourneys began to shrink. The talk of a Wednesday Hawg Fight in Suffolk got Tim to thinking about having Wednesday Hawg Fights in Virginia Beach. Ever the optimist, Tim and Charley realized that the Virginia Beach anglers would have a hard time making it to Suffolk in time for a 5:00 pm blast off, so they decided to start up their own Hawg Fights in Virginia Beach. Tim was courteous enough to contact Mike Kinsey who was going to direct the Suffolk Hawg Fights and asked if there would be a problem with an alternate Hawg Fight in Virginia Beach. Mike had no problem with what Tim wanted to do and so it began.

   Bass Chasers still put on regular tournaments when no others were going on, but they mainly catered to Wednesday Evening Hawg Fights. The popularity of the Hawg Fights was so overwhelming that Tim began hounding sponsors for extra's to hand out at tournaments. Dick's Sporting Goods came through in a huge way sending $50 Gift Certificates to hand out as well as endless discount coupons. Tim and Charley handed out Gambler Lures and VMC hooks as well as gift certificates to local eating establishments.

   Due to the Hawg Fights popularity and further pending military obligations, Tim and Charley have decided to concentrate efforts in 2007 on Hawg Fights while still holding regular tournaments when there are openings. There will be more USO Benefit Tournaments as well. In 2006, Bass Chasers and Bass Jons supported Rule 9 who took the lead on a USO benefit tournament on Beaver Dam Reservoir. It was by far the most successful USO Benefit Tournament to date. 

    The 2007 season promises to be an exciting one. Bass Chasers would like to thank it's sponsors, Dick's Sporting Goods, Gambler Lures and VMC Hooks as well as all the local anglers who have come out to fish. We hope to see you all on the water.