The survey included 15 randomly selected stations throughout the reservoir and was designed to sample primarily catfish and striped bass. As a result, plans were finalized to restock threadfin shad in that portion of the lake. These fish will spawn this spring and, because of early maturation of this species, their offspring will spawn this summer and should result in reestablishment of abundant forage. TPW plans to stock game fish in Possum Kingdom in early June. The department is scheduled to stock 123,900 striped bass fingerlings and 442,500 Florida bass fingerlings.
Possum Kingdom is at the top of the statewide fish stocking priority list.
It is too early to draw any conclusions about the health of the fishery at Possum Kingdom, but a complete assessment is planned. The fish still have not redistributed over the lake and it is difficult to estimate the damage to the resources. TPW plans to conduct gill net surveys in May to assess striper and catfish populations in Possum Kingdom and will evaluate crappie and largemouth bass during fall electro-fishing and trap net surveys. A decrease in numbers is expected for all species, but how much is uncertain.