i caught a fish early this spring and had a fat belly. picture one. but no scale. then i caught the saaaaaaame fish today on fathers day.picture 2. im 100% that this fish is the same by markings and a bacteria infection on one of its fins. weighed it out today at 6lbs. 7 oz. didnt have the belly it did before and in the first pic you can see that its stomach is stretched out by the scales in the first pic so i was just wondering how much more do you think fish weighed in pic one. how much do fish of this size usually gain during the spawn. its a female obviously and for a 6.5 lb fish:P just curious here are the pics just for fun. and senkos rule ;D

spawn full belly

post spawn

i must agree, those fish do look identical.

that must be really awesome to catch the same fish a few months later and know for sure its the same fish.

idk how much the average fish gains during spawn but i'd say first pic looks about 7lbs. it really doesnt look much bigger in the first pic than the second.

its a hawg fo' sho'.

I would imagine 1-2 lbs.  That's a real nice fish. You may want to check your scale beacuse it looks closer to 8lbs.

haha i checked the weight 2x. haha. 6.7 both times! awesome fight and was stripping drag ;D

Weight gain due to eggs is approximately 10% of the body weight of a female largemouth bass. Based on your weight given, that fish would have increased in weight 10 3/4 ounces +/-.

It would depend on each individual bass but I would guess probably around 7 ¼  

thats pretty interesting. and i guess the fish was around 12 to 13 years old for up here in the northeast based on its size. goes to show you why catch and release is so important!!!!. ud have to wait another decade to catch a fish this size that was born this spawn!.

I agree with the 10% weight gain/loss for spawn to pre spawn bass.

10% of 7 lbs is .7 lbs gian or loss, in this fish it's gain; 6.7 +.7 = 7.4 lbs. as an estimate with eggs. Good size northern strain largemouth bass. Next time measure the basses length and girth; mouth closed from tip of jaw to center of tail and around the widest area, dorsal fin down. L x L x G / 1200 = weight, should be very close.

note somewhere this has gotten reversed; L x G x G /1200, incorrect.

The IGFA was L x G x G /800, good for marlin, not bass.

WRB

thanks guys. appreciate as always all the input. my fish was short of the nys record of 11lbs 4 oz by 4 lbs. i couldnt imagine A. Catching a fish that big as a largemouth. and B. catching a fish that old considering the growth rate of a northern strain!!!. fish must of been 18 years old ahha or something

Trav ;D