Thanks for the reply. please let me know you come across anyone that is looking. I'm not looking to sell free to good home.
World Record Bass Attempt Grow Thread
- Thread starter JeBassMaster
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- bass largemouth bass
Alright, well a little update. The biggest bass is confirmed to be over 6 inches long as of today, the fish will likely be 7+ inches by the end of this month. There might be two at this size, but so far I have only seen one, there is another that is close behind, over 5 inches, and then a mid size class of fish that are 4-4.5 inches, and then some runts. The big bass has exhibited incredible growth. The largest fish in the batch when I got these bass in on February 9th was not even two inches long. They were max 1.75". The largest bass, which I believe was one of the larger ones initially, has grown about 4.5" in 3 months in less than optimal growth temperatures which to me is mind boggling. These fish are only 4 months old, spawned in January, and they are already 6-7 inches, it's literally insane. Our rosy red minnow population is absolutely gone, we have about 20 left. There is a healthy population of shiners which the larger bass are now feeding on which will only accelerate their growth as they are larger prey, and their food demand will also skyrocket. I'm expecting the largest bass to be 7 inches by the end of this month, and 9+ by the end of next. Temperatures are going to remain mild for the rest of the month keeping the water in the low to mid 70s, but once June hits and warmer days come, that water temp will sit in the optimal range of 75-81 degrees most of the time, meaning max growth if food is available.
I will be adding 2000 more small rosy reds this week to tie the fish over until the bass are a little bigger and we add some coppernose bluegill. Trying also to get the bass to consume pellets, which is easier said than done, but hopefully, they will start taking them soon! I don't have pictures of the bass, but will get some in the near future hopefully.
I will be adding 2000 more small rosy reds this week to tie the fish over until the bass are a little bigger and we add some coppernose bluegill. Trying also to get the bass to consume pellets, which is easier said than done, but hopefully, they will start taking them soon! I don't have pictures of the bass, but will get some in the near future hopefully.
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Alright, here's the latest pictures!! Not underwater but still very clear shots of these bass. You can tell they have gotten HUGE. Each of them is thick and full of minnows. These are the biggest ones I have in there right now I believe. I have a variety of sizes, a few that are smaller than this, I might have a bigger one but I am pretty sure these are the biggest. Lots of fish could be hiding in the dense anacharis that they are sitting on top of. Biggest is definitely 6 inches. You can kind of measure based on the shiners and other fish nearby that are about 3 inches long, and the biggest of these bass is double that no problem. Another week on this diet of gut loaded minnows/shiners will put the biggest one over 7 inches I am sure. These fish will be huge by the end of the summer, going to have to start culling the numbers soon 
too many mouths to feed, and still not accepting pellets.
Yep, I wish they would eat them. I have northfin carnivore pellets which are 48% protein, super low fat and very healthy ingredients. If they eat those with live food it would be like steroids. They just want nothing to do with them. Going to keep offering until they take them, they were feed trained at the hatchery they came from, but having prey to chase the last few months has been more interesting to them.
Well, here are the latest pictures. These fish are growing so dang fast it's unreal. Just dumped in more minnows this week, have another order of 200 bluegill and 6 lbs of shiners coming next week. We are starting to gain some headway on feeding them, a couple of them took mealworms. Still nothing on the pellet front. My hope is that when the bluegill enter the pond and they start eating the pellets heavily, the bass will catch on. I'm still blown away by their growth. In comparison to the photos in my last post, these fish have gained a lot of size. They jumped up probably another inch or more. You can really see it in the width of their bodies and their heads, as well as the size of their eyes. Coloration a bit more muted sometimes. By the end of this month the largest bass will be 9+ inches I have no doubt. July will be the cull month. Have to get rid of some of these. I think we have over 10 bass in total and the food bill is not sustainable. The forage is not reproducing, but I am hopeful that the bluegill will once introduced. These fish are apex predators and hunting the minnows vigorously every day. Optimal growth season is here and these gorgeous bass are taking full advantage. Their colors are absolutely exceptional. Loving watching these fish grow!
