No doubt that a trophy bass pond takes far more work - just as a trophy bluegill pond does - than a pond managed for middle-of-the-road goals (or one not managed at all). I have talked to several pond and lake owners over the past few years who have F-1's, and in some cases very large ones, but are frustrated because they rarely are able to catch them. But the other side of the coin is, the top fish hatchery in Texas specializes in pure Floridas that have been selectively bred for fourteen years and produced a fifteen-pound bass three years ago, and they seem to have a lot of demand for those fish even though the price on them is exorbitant.

I've been leaning toward the northern-strain simply because most bass fishermen want to use lures, and the Floridas can be pretty humbling to that approach.