This is what a bass should look like

Caught this bass on a lake we manage in north central Texas. Anybody care to guess its weight? This was not caught at one of our leased lakes, but rather another lake we work with. I will be surprised if someone is within 1 pound of the actual weight.

Nice fish! I'd say about 15lbs

That's a dandy, and well fed too.

Gman

How much Steve?

If they had shows for bass like they do for koi, that one's a sure contender for grand champion. It would be a bit easier to guess the weight if the fish had been held....um, er, uh....a bit closer to the body. Still....

There are precious few ways to get a bass in that condition. That fish is able to eat quite a bit without having to work real hard to get it. This a big part of the formula for rapid growth.

You can restrict the number of total bass in the water body so resources are divided among fewer individuals and manage the lake to raise bass food. Or you can use the lake the bass is in primarily as the "container" and bring food in from other places on a regular basis. This may be some of both.

The above is tantamount to big bass, but in this extreme case you do need to consider the genetic makeup of the fish shown. Not all bass, not even many bass, given all they need in the way of habitat and food, will grow to such size. A Florida bass, or with Florida genetic base for one, but likely even beyond that some to a fish that is the product of a selective breeding program at some hatchery or other.

Just from this picture I could rant on for quite a bit about what (waht?) is being done right on this location. Very nice fish.

I'ma say....11.51 pounds.

When do we get the answer?

11.52lbs

I'll give an answer after we have at least 10 guesses.

23 inches and 12 lbs even

14.37 lbs.

8.5 lbs

How long is your hand?

Steve, is that Lex's place?

6 feet tall, 34 inch sleeve length and my arms are slightly bent.

I'm gonna guess 15.25 but a dang nice fish!

No..but close. The other brother.

Hmmmmmmmmm..........13lbs ????
Nice fish !!!
God Bless

I call FOUL! And up my ante to 11.53 pounds.

You been watchin' "The Price is Right" too long.....

OK not counting my second guess we got 8 guesses. Just two or three more and we get an answer.

You got me.
In fairness, I will rescind my guess.

14.44
but that's an awesome fish!!!!

12

Knew it looked familiar. You gonna tell us what she weighed?

14.5

The fish weighed 7.6 lbs and was just 19.5 inches long. I caught this on rod and reel. Most of the fish I catch are from our electroshock fishing boat. The "best" fish I have ever seen before this fish was 160% of relative weight. This fish was almost 185%. I have asked several of my friends in the lake management world if they had seen a fish with this high a relative weight (WR). No one had.

If your curious about what relative weight is for a Bass. Here is a chart. Relative Weight Chart Not a whole lot different than a Body Mass Index for humans. Except most of us want to be thinner not heavier.

D.A.Cooper had the closest guess, but went over by more than a pound. Like the Price is Right if you go over you don't win. I was giving away a $1,000,000,000,000,000 to the closest who did NOT go over.

Wow! Incredibly healthy!

What do I get? Although fat, fish did not look long enough to be over 10. Even 9 for that matter.

Consolation prize? haha.

Man that fish is heavy. What has she been eating?

OK, so we all guessed "too heavy," but I go back and look at the pic and think I should have guessed closer to 40 pounds based on the relative size of the fish to the not so tiny person in the pic.

A closer look reveals the only thing that is in true perspective are the fingers and from that even this specimen goes to a relatively smaller size with respect to length and weight. Now, if this condition can be maintained for a few more years, and this specimen has the genetic potential, the photo can be taken with the fish right against the fisherman's chest and look the same.

I also am curious, "What has this fish been eating?"

shad, bream and crappie.

smaller bass, crappie, bluegill, golden shiners, red ear and threadfin. Interesting enough. no tilapia.

That is one beautiful fish! Congratulations for catching her, Steve!

12.7

Here it is....in reality tilapia is not the perfect bass food. They are too deep bodied and spiny as aych ee double hockey sticks. A bass is limited in the size of tilapia it can take by those things. In extreme cases, bass will die from trying to eat too large a tilapia (this will also end the life of a pelican doing the same, trying to eat too big a tilapia).

The two perfect foods I've found for bass are 1) rainbow trout and 2) common carp. The shapes of the fish and the lack of spines on the trout and only two on the carp, makes these species easy for a bass to eat big specimens and they are nutritionally dense. Of course there are issues with these two, but from pure "eat to grow" perspective they are superior foods.

The thing about tilapia that makes them useful for bass is that they are the only species that can be produced in such high numbers in so little time and space with small amounts of money. It is nothing to do with nutritional density or other particulars.

I am very careful where I use tilapia, many fisheries are not good candidates for the species.

Your right. There is no perfect food. Budget and goals are not mutually exclusive.

12.50

Amazing fish.

11.2

good job

High Fence Bass

12.25

Do they die when you electroshock them?

No, buton, when electroshock surveys are done correctly, fish within range of the probes are only stunned.

Holy cow that is a hog

I'm with Fouz. Your hand is about 4" across. That fish is 5 hands and 1 inch long = 23"

8.74 is my guess

13.5 lbs