NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — When bass fishing, it’s no secret that everybody’s goal is to catch the biggest bass possible!

That’s why since 1998, the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency has been stocking “Florida Bass” in the Tennessee River system, which includes Kentucky Lake. These fish grow bigger than the northern species of bass that existed naturally here.

But, if you catch a large bass that is a result of this stocking program, it won’t exactly be a Florida Bass.

“We don’t catch Florida Bass. What we catch, or what we see being caught are hybrids,” Barry Cross of the TWRA explained, “They’re called the F-1 Hybrid, which is a cross between the Northern Bass and the Florida Bass.”

It can take seven years or more for the fish to have crossbred, and then for their offspring to grow to the larger size.

Here’s the biggest result, the Tennessee state record:

A fifteen plus pound largemouth caught by Gabe Keen on Lake Chickamauga north of Chattanooga.

Naturally, anglers across the state have asked, “Why don’t you stock them in Percy Priest, Old Hickory, Center Hill, and all the lakes on the Cumberland River System?”

The answer has to do with temperature.

“There’s an invisible line, if you will, across the United States, and it’s a heating degree day line,” Cross pointed out, “And above that line, the lakes that they stocked showed no improvement. Below that line, we are seeing results similar to what we see on Chickamauga.”

The good news is that the Tennessee River System can be reached by most people who live in the area. And if you fish in bass tournaments along the Tennessee River System, the winners have seen the results!