The biggest bass we sampled was six lbs nine ounces. Due to this mild winter the larger bass, especially the larger females were in deeper water making them more difficult to sample. So at the end of the day we decided to do some sampling with hook and line. After catching some more bass and culling the smaller ones, Greg managed to catch an eight pound two ounce bass (see pics below). Again these fish have not had their third birthday yet and all of species of fish stocked were no larger than two inches in size.

Not only are the largemouth bass doing exceptionally well, the hybrid striped bass are growing just as good.  These hybrids are awesome to catch now but by next year most people fishing this lake may end ignoring the largemouth bass to chase after these hybrids cause these boys know how to put a fight.

Though we did not sample any trophy fish, we did sample a few species that you will probably only see in ponds that are in South Florida.

Also, we did hear some information from Lake Committee that unfortunately is not that uncommon. Many of these ponds were stocked last year with fry to help improve the forage base. Unfortunately these lakes are clear (i.e. not fertile) so when these fry were stocked they had no food to feed on once they used up their yolk sacs. This resulted in no survival of these fry which means a lot of money was wasted. So next time you want to improve your fishery whether it is fish stocking, electrofishing, etc., please make sure you use a reputable biologist.

Most hatchery fish are the result of genetics from one source.  We handpicked the genetics for the bass stocked in Foxworthy Lake in June of 2009.  These bass came from the best sources for Northern, Pure Florida and F1 largemouth bass.  The lake now has bass over 7.7 lbs in only 2.5 years. As you can see this is one fat bass. This rapid growth is ciritical to ahcieve the full geentic potential of these bass. 

We will begin this spring selling the bass spawned in the lake in 2010 and 2011.  These bass are fat and extremely healthy.  They are being grown in a lake with the best water quality, fertility and forage base around. Adult bass grown in hatcheries are raised intensively with thousands per acre resulting in slower growth.  Most 12-14 inch bass being sold are 2-4 years old.  These bass will be 1-2 years old and again have good genetic diversity with bass coming from four sources.   

Given the rapid growth and excellent body conditions of these bass I expect the 1,000 lbs to go quickly.  Couple this with the novelty of the Foxworthy name and I wish we had more to sell.  Please contact us to get on the list. 

The following prices apply:

7-9 inches    $5.00        9-11 inches    $10.00        >11 inches    $15/lb.

Minimum order $250

Call 770-735-3523 or email info@lakework.com

This lake is managed for quality bass fishing and more importantly aesthetics. Castle Farms provides company meetings, weddings, etc. overlooking the lake so any weed growth in the lake needs to be eliminated. Since the herbicides were not getting the job done and the grass carp escaped the lake during a flood, we determined the best solution is to dredge the lake to increase water depths. Increasing the water depths will decrease the amount of sunlight that reaches the pond bottom which will in turn decrease the amount of weed growth. But to accurately determine how much sediment needed to be dredge to achieve the proper depths, we needed to create a bathymetric map.

Common uses for these maps include: sedimentation control, volume calculation, recreation maps, habitat and ecology management, watershed management and awesome fishing maps. For this particular project, we wanted to find how much sediment needed to be removed to achieve a depth of four feet.  With this data, we can the project the cost of dredging the lake instead of our client getting surprised with an enormous bill at the end of the dredging work.

Using a high end GPS unit connected to a depth finder, we are able to collect the data needed to create the bathymetric map. This system collects a GPS coordinate and water depth every second. To acquire the data needed to create the map, we simply drive around the lake while collecting data. In a lake with very little depth changes this is a very easy process but if the lake bottom has a lot of contours (ridges, channels, etc.)  we have to  make sure to collect enough data at these locations to accurately show theses changes on the map. Once all our data is collected, we send to our partner company The Mapping Network where they convert the data into the bathymetric map.

The pictures below show Castle Farms Lake. One shows the contour lines and the other is a 3-D representation of the lake.

Castle Farms 3D

Castle Farms Contour

Please contact Aquatic Environmental Services at 770-735-3523 or www.lakework.com if you are interested in lake mapping or any other fisheries management services.