Tips for my first Largemouth Bass?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Haha, I appreciate the wisdom!

However, I'd say about 80% (if not more) of the wedding expenses have already been paid for and about 95% of it has been planned. All I really have left to do is get fitted for my tux, other than that we are well ahead of schedule on everything else. In fact, that's probably the only reason she gave me the go ahead on this project, that and since we bought our first house in 2009 we each have a heafty tax return headed our way here soon. And just to give you guys a timeline, the construction part of this project won't be happening until after my tax return hits my bank account. For now I'm trying to solidify all of the plans ahead of time so I can setup a realistic budget and start laying out a game plan. If anything, I think this project will keep my fiancee happy as it will motivate me to finish the basement, and her laundry room (which, unfortuantely, is in the room next to the man cave...) and it will keep me out of her hair as she finishes up the rest of the wedding plans. And either way, she knows that if she needs me to help with any more of the wedding plans I will gladly put the basement on the backburner to lend a hand.

Now, on with the discussion of which tank to use...
 
once again, major +respect for all the though you're putting into this.

personally, i would definitely go with a hand-built plywood tank. it would be totally cheaper than buying a glass tank, you can customize it exactly how you want, you can make it as big as you want without the exponential price increase associated with glass tanks, and you will have fun making it (at least i would)!
 
dude i caught a bass out of lake Pontchartrain in my cast net , i've had it for six months in a 10 gal. he is bout 6 inch. and he is doing great , im geting a 70 gal tank soon . its realy simple to keep lmb , but be prepared to spended on feeders , he eats 15 a day
 
wild caught!;3705127; said:
dude i caught a bass out of lake Pontchartrain in my cast net , i've had it for six months in a 10 gal. he is bout 6 inch. and he is doing great , im geting a 70 gal tank soon . its realy simple to keep lmb , but be prepared to spended on feeders , he eats 15 a day
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wow a 6 inch bass in a 10 gallon? you need to get it in a tank much bigger than 70 gallons, asap!
 
dsaavedra;3704277; said:
once again, major +respect for all the though you're putting into this.

personally, i would definitely go with a hand-built plywood tank. it would be totally cheaper than buying a glass tank, you can customize it exactly how you want, you can make it as big as you want without the exponential price increase associated with glass tanks, and you will have fun making it (at least i would)!
Click to expand...

Thanks man, I figure if I'm going to do this I want to do it right the first time. The last thing I want is to end up with a dead LMB on my first try...

Anyway, the more research I do the closer I get to a DIY plywood build. I definitely like the idea of building the tank to suit my needs and paying for it a little bit at a time. One of the major downsides to a glass tank is the upfront cost... at least with a plywood build I can spend $1000 over the course of a few months rather than all at once. Oh and I'm the same way, I will have way more fun building the tank and it will mean a lot more to me rather than buying one. However, if I come across a large enough used glass tank on craigslist I don't think I'll be able to pass it up. I fully intend to build my own stand and canopy either way, but if I can snag a 200+ gallon used tank for a good price locally I feel I would do it.

Now, here is another idea I was tossing around today at work... While I'm planning my LMB tank build and waiting for funds to become available, I think I'm going to try to pick up a used ~55 gallon tank for cheap on craigslist. My thoughts were that if I could buy a used tank for a good price I could clean it up and literally "get my feet wet" in the native freshwater aquarium world. Not only would it be a great learning experience for me, but it would also allow me to stock the tank with two or three small Crappie (if I could find them). Then, when I finish my big tank a few months later the Crappie should be large enough to fend for themselves when I add them and a LMB fingerling to the big tank. I could then clean out the 55 gallon and prep it for feeders for the Crappie and the LMB. What do you guys think? Would it be worth it for me to pick up a used tank and start raising the Crappie now, or should I just wait until I finish the larger tank and purchase all of the fish at the same time? I don't want to get ahead of myself, but at the same time it sure would be nice to get some native fish into my house ASAP :D

Thanks again for all the great info!
 
I think most people in this hobby (especially the ones on this site) have MTS (multi tank sydrome) so you might as well get an early jump on it and get that 55. To be honest with you though I would try to pick up a 75 or a 90 if you get the chance. With either one of those 2 options you get a tank that is 18 inches wide instead of the 12 inches you get with a 55. That extra 6 inches really helps with bigger fish. If you look for a bit on CL in a big city you should be able to find a 75 for cheap. With the 75 or 90 you could also get your small bass and keep him in there while your building your big tank. Also don't know if you have seen this site or not yet but its a decent resourse for someone interested in natives http://forum.nanfa.org/
 
yea go ahead and get a smaller tank, why not! you'll have it for as long as you want, and you can put whatever you want in it! it would be nice if you could get one for cheap.
 
you could use the 55 as a sump or qt tank after the main tank is done.

check your local craigslist for used tanks.
 
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