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BIG FISH GENETICS
Game fish reach trophy size proportions with proper genetics. Water quality and availability of forage foods are important factors too.
by Terry Lacoss

I have often wondered why Raymond Forehand does not care to go fishing. Keeping in mind that I am his grandfather, who has loved fishing all of my life. His mother, Mary Lee Forehand, my oldest daughter, also loves fishing. His father, Ben Forehand loves to fish and is also a part time charter boat captain. But to come right down to it, those fishing genes were completely left out when he was conceived.
A wide variety of saltwater game fish are also passed down genes from their parents and have a good chance in following in their parent's footsteps. This is more likely one of the major factors when a fishermen hooks up to a really big fish. Those big fish parental genes were passed their way.
"I once fished in a Alabama freshwater lake with a friend and at the end of the day, we had caught over two hundred bass, all weighing just under two pounds," Larry Columbo said. "Not only was the lake choked plumb full of small bass, but the forage fish were small too. It was obvious that the lake was mismanaged and more importantly, the big fish genes were also missing in the many bass that lived in the lake."
Larry Columbo is the PR director for Techsonic Industries and has been a close friend of mine for several fishing seasons.
I am personally in charge of a forty-acre lake on Amelia Island Plantation and for several years now have made sure that there were plenty of big bass in the lake. This was accomplished by managing the quality of the water by adding oxygen pumps in areas of the lake that needed more oxygen in the water, stocking the lake with genetic perfect trophy bass and making sure that the right variety of forage foods was also in the lake.
Genetics is also a major factor in a wide variety of saltwater game fish where certain species of fish tend to grow much larger than other areas of the ocean, or backwaters. A good example lies in the Gulf Coast fishery where saltwater fishing from Venice, Louisiana often produces better than average size game fish and plenty of them. Here in the warm baitfish enriched waters of the Gulf of Mexico giant king mackerel, yellowfin tuna and wahoo offer some of the best saltwater angling in the world.
Sure some fishermen may argue that the conditions are perfect off from Venice for growing big fish, with the many bait enriched oil platforms as far as the naked eye can see, adding both fish structures, ambush points and more importantly, a big easy meal.
With all of this said, it is easy to see why some saltwater game fish acquire the proper genetics when living in a somewhat perfect environment. For several years now both the states of California and Texas have been stocking their freshwater lakes with Florida strain largemouth bass and the results were phenomenal, particularly in California lakes. In fact George Perry's long time world record largemouth bass weighing 22.4 pounds was almost broken on a couple of occasions.
In all probability, stocking Florida strain largemouth bass in deep clear lakes, with an abundance of rainbow trout to feed on, had record breaking results.
Stocking live yellowfin tuna, wahoo and giant kingfish from the fertile rich waters of the Gulf of Mexico into other areas of the ocean, may not ever happen. But it is clear that all of these species do migrate when the opportunity to find warmer waters and when following baitfish migrations too.
This also brings up a major factor. If areas in the ocean had the proper fish structures, availability of baitfish and the right water quality, this same fish-enriched water would also harbor quality size saltwater game fish.
With this in mind, they would also develop these same big fish genetics.
To take these big fish genetics one step further, there are also many areas of the saltwater and freshwater bodies of water where game fish are more apt to have big fish genetics than other areas.
Take for example a red fishing trip to Cocodrie Louisiana in 2002. My son Terry David and I pre-fished for three days before the beginning of the IFA ESPN Redfish Cup and found one "Duck Pond" that harbored fat, plump redfish. The water was clean, there was a variety of grasses, ambush points including oyster bars, creek mouths and points, and plenty of forage foods including blue crabs and mullet. Other nearby ponds did not have these same critical factors and harbored much smaller redfish.
During the first day of the tournament we weighed in two fat redfish that weighed just shy of twenty pounds and went on to win the event.
Georgia's Gray's Reef is another prime example where you may find one area of a body of water where genetic perfect game fish may be found.
"Gray's reef has an absolute gorgeous bottom with numerous four- to ten-foot ledges, a massive limestone ridge, coral and a variety of marine life including sponges," remembers Jay Childers of Brunswick Georgia. "Years ago, I used to dive on the reef for the State of Georgia and saw just about every specie of saltwater marine life that you could imagine, including some of the largest grouper in Georgia state waters."
However in recent years it has been record-breaking king mackerel that have attracted saltwater fishermen to Gray's reef, which gave up a 75.12-pound new Georgia state record. Joe Bell landed the massive king mackerel while fishing with son Jason and trolling a live greenie. The gigantic "Smoker" measured 651/2 inches and had a massive 281/2-inch girth. The record-breaking king mackerel was caught while employing 20-pound Cajun fishing line and two number six treble hooks. It took Joe Bell 30 minutes to land his momentous catch.
Obviously Georgia's Gray's reef has the same water qualities that similar Gulf of Mexico waters harbor where saltwater game fish are likely to develop big fish genetics. Other areas of the ocean that tend to harbor genetic perfect saltwater game fish include Hateras North Carolina, the Florida Keys and Florida's Cape Canaveral.
Successful Southern Kingfish Association tournament teams have recognized in which areas of the ocean big kingfish genetics are more likely to harbor tournament winning king mackerel. In the last few SKA tournament seasons, kingfish teams have been very successful with their larger and more powerful kingfish boats in reaching genetic perfect waters. Such long runs may entail ocean voyages of over one hundred miles!
SKA tournament teams have also realized the importance of protecting the stock of genetic perfect king mackerel, in hopes of returning to these same fertile enriched waters and landing a tournament winning king mackerel.
"We landed a huge kingfish this morning, which had to weigh in the mid-fifty-pound class," Gary Palmer said. "It was by far the largest kingfish that I have ever seen. We took a quick photo of the fish, revived it alongside our fishing boat and watched it swim away, hoping that we could come back to the very same spot and catch it during the "Bell South Greater Jacksonville Kingfish Tournament"!
Fortunately more and more king mackerel fishermen are releasing big king mackerel hoping that they will return to the very same water and catch them once again during a fishing tournament. However it didn't use to be that way. Kingfish were gaffed and put in the boat's fish box for a later seafood dinner. In recent years, there has definitely been a depreciation of big kingfish, which in turn has opened the eyes of both recreational and tournament fishing teams.
One of the more successful techniques in releasing king mackerel at the boat is simply grabbing the fishing line and given it a good jerk. This often results in pulling the small kingfish hooks free without injuring the fish.
If you have to handle the fish before releasing it, wet your hands first and grab the king by the tail. Take a pair of long nosed pliers, or a pair of hook-outs and dislodge the hooks from the mouth of the king. Next place the head of the kingfish in the water and plunge the head back and forth, while forcing fresh ocean water through its gills. When you feel that the kingfish is completely revived, give the king one last plunge into the water and let go of the tail.
I'm certain that one day biologists will find a new technology in stocking genetic perfect saltwater game fish. In the meantime, saltwater fishermen will need to safeguard some of the southeast's favorite fishing waters, where game fish have a better chance in becoming genetically perfect.