The bass I catch gain weight in different ways. 

 

Some get thick:

 

 

Some become saucer-shaped like Clayton's bass: 

 

 

Some grow shoulders:

 

 

Some become pear-shaped:

 

 

Some grow a gut:

 

 

Some become a giant head:

 

 

 

How do your bass gain weight? Photos invited!

I mean - the interesting thing is - having caught and recaught and recaught again some bigger specimens - I can confidently say they gain and lose weight all the time - sometimes dramatically within 48 hour periods especially when they’re spawning.

 

Fat and short can often mean an older fish that has reached its full potential but not always - smaller mouths and smaller eyes on huge bodies with huge tails are good signs - younger fish that are still growing at a wild pace.

 

I try not to think too much about it - I just like it when a big one bites.  : )

 

when they’re long and fat and wide and tall - HoOrAy for me!!!! 👍😂

 

 

What I don't catch are long bass. @N Florida Mike just caught a bass over 24" that weighed about four and a half pounds, all its weight in its length. I hope @Bluebasser86/Clayton posts some of his dinner platter bass. 

Need to remember bass come in males and females. Males will have thinner bodies and with age their head out grows the body indicates an old male.

Female bass grow fatter do to the need to produce eggs and surround those egg sacks with fat to insulate them during the cold water periods. Eating an abundance of high protein prey without the need to hunt and chase down prey or swim against current they they grow faster the the skeleton length. Football shaped bass are very healthy.

Tom

Tom, I'm glad to read that the footballs are healthy. That means I'm catching a lot of healthy bass.

@Swamp Girl Mine was 22.5 , not 24 .

The longest bass I ever caught was 26 inch, and it only weighed 7 pounds 6 oz. 
It was rough looking, like maybe it was in its last days or something.

6 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

@Swamp Girl Mine was 22.5 , not 24 .

The longest bass I ever caught was 26 inch, and it only weighed 7 pounds 6 oz. 
It was rough looking, like maybe it was in its last days or something.

Probably an old long male.

Tom

 

I think it’s the combination of the low population density of bass and the extremely high density of forage in most lakes. A whole lot of food options and not a lot of competition seems to add up to a good number of obese bass. It’s rare to see one 22” long, but they’ll often hit 6lbs at only 21”, sometimes even 20” or even less in some cases.

 

Unfortunately the only very long bass I’ve caught in Kansas was this 24.5” fish that just was not built like they normally are, especially for the lake it came from. If it had been, I have no doubt I’d have been well into the DD range and potentially a state record.

Clayton, the second bass from the bottom looks like a bluegill. It's a bassgill. 

Genetics big bass produce big bass. Texas Share A Lunker program is proof of this.

 California Giant LMB were Florida strain introduced into lakes that didn’t produce many  LMB over 8 lbs often same ecosystem that produce hundreds of DD size LMB. This indicates to me it’s all genetics'.

My PB Northern strain caught at lake Casitas in 1971 is 27.5” long weighing 12.25 lbs. 

My PB Florida strain from lake Casitas in 1981 is 28.5” long weighing 18.6 lbs.

Both bass caught at the same location on jigs.

PB Florida strain from lake Castiac caught 1993 is 28.5” long weighing 19.3 lbs, also caught on a jig.

World Record FLMB caught in Japan in Japan  is 29” long weighing 22.31 lbs.

Tom

 

Lead weights 😂😂

I’ve caught bass up to 23.5” in NY. That fish weighed 6-3. I routinely catch bass up to 22”, or up to 5lbs. The larger bass I catch usually have huge heads and long bodies. 

My bass get big by exercising my fisherman’s prerogative. In other words. I don’t let the truth get in the way of a good fish story.

Unfortunately I lost all the pics on my old computer.

My best was in the late 90's. 12.5 lbs, 24". In June, way after the spawn, can guess she would have close to 15 prespawn. Here, it's all about bluegill and crappie. I've caught em with 2 or 3 bluegill tails sticking out of their gullet.

Watched a underwater video that biologists did in central Florida. Bass ate 3 or 4 bluegill, 1 after another, baby ducks, baby gators, truly amazing !!

Mine often come in from the Great Lakes in the early spring to spawn in my small, weedy river. There’s also a shallow(5’@deepest) lake that sources it. I’ve caught the gamut in the same areas this summer. June was full of predictable lean, lanky fish. This stayed persist into nearly August. I did get very fat fish in June and July, but during peak summer it was lean or normal, boxy largemouth.

 

My guess is the leaner fish gained weight back to a point of health and recovery, but with the effort and warm water metabolism; some just couldn’t gain any bulk. That will change this fall for sure. My fish are also always near current

 

Lean/lanky bass:

 

Normal bass:

 

Fat Bass:

 

 

Depends on the time of year.  When our season traditionally opens in May, the fish are usually prespawn for about 2-4 weeks.  This is when I try to target bloated brownies.  Some of the largies I catch during this period are also clearly prespawn.  The last photo is a post spawn female from the first week of June.  There is a noticeable difference in weight.  As the season progresses through summer and into fall, these fish regain their weight.  The bass up here take about a decade to reach 20 inches/5 pounds (both smallmouth and largemouth).  That is a direct quote from a fisheries biologist I spoke with at a Bassmaster Elite event.

 

 

Gim, your first three bass are so fat they're funny!

The fattest bass I ever caught was 21.5 inches long, and had a 21 inch girth. 
I caught it in a big pond . I fished there several times and have never caught another bass. It’s full of baitfish too.

1 hour ago, little giant said:

Unfortunately I lost all the pics on my old computer.

My best was in the late 90's. 12.5 lbs, 24". In June, way after the spawn, can guess she would have close to 15 prespawn. Here, it's all about bluegill and crappie. I've caught em with 2 or 3 bluegill tails sticking out of their gullet.

Watched an underwater video that biologists did in central Florida. Bass ate 3 or 4 bluegill, 1 after another, baby ducks, baby gators, truly amazing !!

Golden  Shiners are a high protein prey fish.
Tom

51 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

Gim, your first three bass are so fat they're funny!

The window to target those prespawn smallmouth on big water is very brief. Not to mention the lake is huge and the weather/wind has to cooperate.

 

I might go again in October.

Tom, I did not know that Golden shiners are high in protein. They're the primary prey of the bass I catch.

 

^ They were also one of my targets when I was a kid fishing ponds in MA and RI growing up. They're actually pretty tasty IIRC.

None of the bass I catch look anything like the fish in these photos.

 

The conclusion I've reached is the bass in my fishery are users of Ozempic.

The big bass in my lake can be long and thin,

long and medium.

 

Or long and fat.

 

You are the King Fisher. Your Majesty, please keep your bass from my bass as your bass will eat my bass.