courteSy david SwendSeid photo by david a. brown hoW Bass groW
Like almost all fish, bass are considered indeterminate growers, meaning they don’ t ever stop growing. You might think this means there is no upper limit to their maximum attainable size, but in reality the growth begins to taper off to almost indistinguishable levels as they reach the ends of their natural lives, which is why we’ ve never seen a 40-inch, 55-pound largemouth.
A 22-pound-plus bass such as the one caught by Manabu Kurita( shown above) from Lake Biwa is at the peak of its life, and the product of optimum genetics and growing conditions.
forage speCIes and aBundanCe
The availability of high-calorie, abundant prey species is also paramount to bass reaching their maximum growth potential. Many of the entries on the bass all-time list were caught from lakes stocked with trout or gizzard shad – or lakes benefiting from the forage boom caused by“ new reservoir effect,” which occurs when a lake is first flooded and the prey fish populations skyrocket. photo by Jennifer idol / engbretSon underwater photography photo by d. w. reed ii loCatIon, loCatIon, loCatIon
Bass are cold-blooded animals, and their metabolism is directly related to the water temperature. Studies have found that the maximum growth for largemouths occurs at water temperatures around 77 degrees, which is why bass tend to achieve a larger maximum size in the South, where the water temperature remains near peak levels longer during the season.
Other locational factors include water quality – obviously bass in more conducive water conditions get bigger faster than those stressed by poor water quality – and habitat, as bass need the proper mix of cover and structure to live long enough to reach their maximum size potential.
populatIon dynamICs
Bass maximum size is also heavily impacted by competition. Too many bass will cause a shortage of resources, which slows growth and causes stunted populations. The most productive lakes for giant bass will also have a healthy size structure across all species( including forage), and there will likely be some source of regular mortality – whether natural or man-made( angling). photo by Jody white photo courteSy clam outdoorS genetICs
Female Florida-strain bass grow to be larger than northern-strain largemouth bass, and the vast majority of the truly giant bass( more than 13 pounds) studied have had at least some Florida-strain DNA in them. The California giants and most Texas lunkers are the result of someone stocking Florida bass in those states in the past.
age has lIttle to do WIth It
Interestingly, in most population studies, the largest bass sampled are not necessarily the oldest. An exhaustive study of bass in the coastal waterways of North Carolina sampled bass up to 13 years old. The average size of the oldest fish was less than 3 pounds. Another study found that after about age 8, the growth curve for largemouth and smallmouth bass in New York essentially flattens. What this means is that, although older bass have had more time to grow to larger size, age is likely a secondary factor in overall growth, and the general health of a fishery is the real key. Thus, a 5-year-old bass from one lake could easily be heavier than a 9-year-old bass in another.
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