Jeff Crosby, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, 1 Game Farm Road, Frankfort, KY 40601

Abstract. This study was conducted to determine if the stocking of high densities of threadfin shad in small impoundments could increase the availability of late season forage for largemouth bass and result in improvements in bass growth rates and population structure. Four small impoundments (<120 hectares) located in central and northern Kentucky were sampled for largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides, gizzard shad Dorosoma cepedianum, and threadfin shad D. petenense from 1995-1997. Following one year of preliminary data collection in 1995, threadfin shad were stocked into each lake in 1996 at a rate of 250 fish/hectare. Data were collected, following the stockings, to determine the contribution of threadfin shad to the forage base, utilization of the shad by largemouth bass, changes in growth of largemouth bass, and any negative interactions occurred between age-0 largemouth bass and threadfin shad. The specific study goals were to 1) produce a ratio of peak threadfin shad to peak gizzard shad abundance greater than 80%, 2) produce a catch rate of threadfin shad greater than 0.2 fish/m³ from June through September, 3) increase (P 0.10) shad consumption by largemouth bass during the fall, 4) increase (P 0.10) annual growth of age 1-4 largemouth bass, 5) improve condition of 10-45 cm largemouth bass, and 6) result in no significant decreases in growth of age-0 largemouth bass.