CHRISTOPHER O’BARA AN CHARLES DRUMRIGHT, Technological University, Center for the Management, Utilization, and Protection of Water Resources, Cookeville, Tennessee, USA

BOBBY WILSON AND DAVID RIZZUTO, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Region I, Jackson, Tennessee, USA

DOUGLAS PETERSON AND JAMES NEGUS, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Region IV, Talbott, Tennessee, USA

Recently, supplemental stocking of warmwater sportfish has become popular with fish and wildlife agencies because of increased angling pressure and the public’s perception that stocking of more fish will always improve angling. White crappie Pomoxis annularis and largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides were introduced into two systems in an effort to enhance these important recreational fisheries. Both species were implanted with micro-wire tags prior to release. Two week post tagging survival exceeded 95 % for both species. Approximately 9,000 hatchery-reared tagged white crappie (100-150 mm in TL) were released into Herb Parsons Lake, a small highly-managed impoundment, in January 1994. A full-time complete creel survey was conducted beginning in the Spring 1994 with clerks instructed to determine the presence of micro-tags using a hand-held wand. Fewer than 100 micro-tagged white crappie have been harvested by anglers. Collections by trap nets and gill nets also have produced few tagged white crappie although naturally produced white crappie of the 1993 year class were well represented. Nine thousand tagged largemouth bass were introduced into two embayments of Norris Reservoir in October 1995. These fish (120-200 mm) were reared in a nursery pond adjacent to the reservoir. Attempts by electrofishing in the fall 1995, spring 1996, and fall 1996 have failed to produce a single tagged individual. The 1995 year class was represented in all samples. The stocking of white crappie and largemouth bass into systems with natural reproduction appears to be counter-productive. It is appears that better education of the angling public concerning supplemental stocking may be more rewarding to both the angler and agencies.