Establishment of a Hybrid Morone Fishery in the Apalachicola River, Florida

Hybrids produced by crossing female striped bass (Morone saxatilis) with male white bass (M. chrysops) have been stocked annually in Lake Seminole, Georgia and Florida, since 1975. Fish migrating from this reservoir and subsequent stockings directly into the Apalachicola River in Florida have resulted in a very popular hybrid Morone fishery. Spring creel surveys conducted from 1979 to 1983 documented improved angler success and major increases in fishing effort. More than 15,500 hybrids weighing 28,800 kg were harvested. The monetary value of this additional fishery was more than $339,000.