Fish Age

[jleonard91]

I have read a few posts on here about world record bass being caught. These fish have got to be at a pretty decent age when they are caught to get to that size. How old do you think let's say a 10 lb bass is?

[Hog Basser]

It depends on the growing season available to them, which is determined by location and climate.  Some bass can grow very quickly early on, adding 2-3 lbs. in a year with a good amount of forage and a long growing season in warmer climate.  In cooler climates, it can take quite a bit longer.  At 3-4 years old in great conditions, some bass can hit the 7-8 lbs. mark, it may take 7-8 years in a cooler climate.  Anyway, you get the picture.  

10 lbs. in the south could be a 5 year old fish, in the north a 10 yr old fish.  That's why they're so much rarer up north.  

[Luna2406]

I found some charts online that have the length or weight and a good estimate of how old that fish is. Like Hog Basser said, its all dependent on a lot of variables.

[Raul]

5 hours ago, jleonard91 said:

I have read a few posts on here about world record bass being caught. These fish have got to be at a pretty decent age when they are caught to get to that size. How old do you think let's say a 10 lb bass is?

Depends on many factors, in my neck of the woods a 10 lb bass may be 4 or 5 years old.

[WRB]

You can take the total bass population in most lakes and none will ever grow to be 10lbs.

No male bass for example will ever be 10 lbs.

LMB age limits also depends on the water temperature the bass live in, cooler water the live longer than water that exceeds 80 degrees.

LMB bass don't start to grow big as adults, they start as juveniles to get a head start on their year class then must survive long enough to achieve maximum potential weight.

Most states LMB live to be about 12 to 15 years old, longer the further north they live and shorter the further south.

Age is one factor; genetics, availble prey, quality of the ecosystem, fishing pressure and being a female bass determine growth potential.

California record size bass are over 10 years old.

Tom

 

[jleonard91]

So how do people know how old a bass is? I know with deer you can look at their teeth, is there something you can look at on a bass and know about how old they are?

[J Francho]

2 hours ago, Raul said:

Depends on many factors, in my neck of the woods a 10 lb bass may be 4 or 5 years old.

Reverse in NY, a 5 lb. bass might be 10 years old.

5 minutes ago, jleonard91 said:

So how do people know how old a bass is? I know with deer you can look at their teeth, is there something you can look at on a bass and know about how old they are?

The size of their eyes, mouth, and head, condition, length.  Its just a guess, and it's relative.  "This bass looked old." Not, "This bass is 12 years old."

[jleonard91]

13 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Reverse in NY, a 5 lb. bass might be 10 years old.

The size of their eyes, mouth, and head, condition, length.  Its just a guess, and it's relative.  "This bass looked old." Not, "This bass is 12 years old."

Makes sense. 

[Scott F]

Here is an article on fish aging from this website

http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/fish-aging.html

[soflabasser]

13 hours ago, jleonard91 said:

I have read a few posts on here about world record bass being caught. These fish have got to be at a pretty decent age when they are caught to get to that size. How old do you think let's say a 10 lb bass is?

A old bass is not always a big bass.In Florida there have been documented cases of 4 year old bass that where  +10 pounds in weight and sub 6 pound bass that are over 8 years old.

[gim]

On ‎9‎/‎22‎/‎2016 at 1:58 PM, jleonard91 said:

So how do people know how old a bass is? I know with deer you can look at their teeth, is there something you can look at on a bass and know about how old they are?

Fisheries Biologists can age the fish very accurately using the otolith.  Its a bone that I believe is in the head of a fish and they count the rings on it, similar to the rings on a tree trunk.  Course, that's only good if the fish is dead too.  I heard a DNR Biologist indicate at the AOY Mille Lacs that a 4 pound smallmouth there is about 15 years old and a 5 pounder is 20+ years old.

[ottosmagic13]

Cut them in half and count the rings. 

EDIT: Lol, I was trying to make a joke and the post right above me makes it sound like it's actually legitimate (if invasive) TDIL 

*Cue "the more you know" shooting star rainbow*