i go fishing often and before the spawn i saw a 4 inch lmb was really fat near a pad of vegatation about 1 ft. i think it was feeding on some minnows. and another i saw a 6 inch lmb during the spawn the lake here is full of baitfish and big bluegill and there shouldent be a problem with the growth of the fish. if the fish spawned last year and its been a year how is it so small i thought bass grow about a pound a year? am i wrong

A lot depends on where you're at. In my neck of the woods, northern Illinois, it takes about 10 years for a smallmouth to reach 4 pounds.  Last week, my friend hooked this specimen in northern Wisconsin. It sure looks like a smallmouth. They haven't spawned yet up there so this one must have been born last year. It doesn't look like it weighs a pound to me.

A pound a year is probably only under really good conditions and with a long growing season. I know they don't grow that fast around here for sure. 

14 hours ago, Scott F said:

A lot depends on where you're at. In my neck of the woods, northern Illinois, it takes about 10 years for a smallmouth to reach 4 pounds.  Last week, my friend hooked this specimen in northern Wisconsin. It sure looks like a smallmouth. They haven't spawned yet up there so this one must have been born last year. It doesn't look like it weighs a pound to me.

Yep, growth varies dramatically. Here in the Mid South the smallmouth feed year around and may grow to 5 lbs or more in 5 years, but their life expectancy is only 9 years or so.