1 hour ago, soflabasser said:

 

Congratulations to Mr.Williams,that bass is a beauty.The bass is thick all along its length, which shows this bass was extremely healthy when it was caught. 

most of our water bodies in montana have a steady flow in them so most of our bass are high in muscle but low in fat, unfortunately this means they grow very slow

Yep hog mama 

1 hour ago, Jon P. said:

most of our water bodies in montana have a steady flow in them so most of our bass are high in muscle but low in fat, unfortunately this means they grow very slow

They grow slow, but they grow very thick for their size from the looks of it. Last month I caught a bass a little over 9lbs and she was 4 inches longer than the bass you showed. Would of easily been a double digit if she had some more thickness to her body.

4 hours ago, Jon P. said:

this is Darren Williams with his state record

No way that guys in high school ?

Mass state record of just under 16 I believe.Biggest I've caught was 7 and that was out of a small pond.I can't imagine pulling a 16.I was shaking like a leaf with the 7.

Big bass can definitely grow huge in small ponds, especially if they're private.  Indiana's state record of 14 pounds 14 ounces was caught in a small private pond that hadn't been fished in years previously.