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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