Fish in Tennessee

Attention Anglers, Do NOT Move Bass!

The movement and illegal stocking of Alabama Bass outside their native range has caused serious issues for Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass fisheries across the southeast. It has been well documented that Alabama Bass prey on, hybridize with, and out compete other bass species for habitat and food resources. High hybridization rates between species will eventually result in a population without any genetically pure Smallmouth Bass. Once this occurs it can never be reversed and results in the loss of those species and the decline in the quality of that fishery.

Alabama Bass and their hybrids have been found in numerous Tennessee reservoirs. TWRA has documented the displacement of Largemouth Bass in Parksville Reservoir, one of the first sites Alabama Bass were documented outside their range in Tennessee, and hybridization with Smallmouth Bass has been documented in Watts Bar, Ft. Loudoun, and Tellico reservoirs. By all accounts, if Alabama Bass are introduced into Tennessee’s best bass fisheries, we stand to lose bass fishing as we know it. Do Not Move Alabama Bass!