"This past year represents the fourth or fifth stocking of Florida bass there, primarily into the Ryan Creek arm of Smith Lake," Nichols explained. "We had an unusually good year for bass production in 2005 and were able to stock even more in some embayments north of Ryan Creek."

In 2006, fishery scientists will do genetic studies on the bass in Ryan Creek.

"If we keep seeing incremental changes in the genetic makeup of the largemouth bass in these study areas, then we'll plan to continue using this type of stocking of Florida bass in major public reservoirs," Nichols added.

THE TALE OF THE B.A.I.T. REPORT
To learn which are the best bass lakes in the Heart of Dixie, let's look at the 2004 Bass Angler's Information Team report. The B.A.I.T. report ranks all the quality indicators for reservoirs that have held five or more bass tournaments. Results from those events are submitted to the state by club or tournament organizers.

When looking at the B.A.I.T. report, remember that reservoirs with minimum-length limits or slot limits on bass display skewed figures. On those lakes with minimum-size limits, fishermen can weigh in only larger fish. For that reason, the average fish size may be larger, but the numbers caught are likely to be smaller. If a slot limit is in effect -- for instance, requiring the immediate release of 14- to 18-inch fish -- then more bass are likely to show up at the weigh-in, but many are likely to be only 12- to 13-inchers.

That said, the lakes are evaluated based on the highest percentage of success per angler-day (how many anglers caught at least one keeper bass); the average weight of the bass caught; the number of bass caught per angler per day; the number of pounds of bass caught per angler per day; and the number of hours required to catch a bass of 5 pounds or larger.

BIG-BASS STATISTICS (Lakes Listed Alphabetically)
LAKE	% OF ANGLER SUCCESS (At least one bass)	BASS PER ANGLER PER DAY	AVG. WEIGHT IN LBS.	HOURS FISHED PER 10-LB. BASS
Demopolis	49.3	5.19	2.14	491
Eufaula	74.3	4.07	2.33	261
Guntersville	69.5	3.95	2.58	339
Jordan	72.2	5.00	2.06	3,202
Millers Ferry	58.4	3.80	1.90	367
Weiss	73.9	4.85	1.93	349
West Point	75.1	4.00	1.65	363
Wilson	53.9	3.42	2.22	288
Data from most recent B.A.I.T. report)

SURE BETS
If we look solely at lakes where the highest percent of anglers catch a bass, Lake Martin ranks No. 1, followed by Logan Martin Lake, R. L. Harris Reservoir and Millers Ferry Lake.

BIGGEST BASS
Guntersville takes No. 1 as the lake where an angler has the best chance to catch the largest bass, based solely on the average weight of fish brought to the scales. Of course, that's no surprise, since historically, Lake Guntersville has produced large numbers of big bass, year after year. Guntersville has an abundance of aquatic weed growth, which provides ideal habitat for bass and the baitfish on which the bass feed. Guntersville also holds an expanse of shallow water that's close to drop-offs and has consistently produced good spawns. A heavy infestation of aquatic vegetation at Guntersville gives the big bass a place to hide as well.

Wilson Lake occupies the No. 2 spot for big bass, with Lake Eufaula, Demopolis Lake and Jordan Lake rounding out the top five in Alabama.