Bass growth rate

[PooNug]

How long does a bass usually take to get to around 12 inches?  I see all the little baby bass from the recent spawn at my local lake and I can't wait to slay em!

[BassinBoy]

It all depends on the food source.  In a good lake I think maby 3 years.

[George Welcome]

Growth rate will vary greatly from one body to the next, and one area to the next. Two ponds that are side by side can be totally different.

However, one-year old bass average about seven inches in length and grow to an adult size of 10 inches in about 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 years. It is after this age that growth varies drastically between north and south. Simply put the feeding and growing period per year is longer in the south.

[NBR]

If thr lake/river is north much slower than if it's south. Florida fish gain weight all year in michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota etc. they might lose weight in the winter and if the do grow it is very very little.

[Paul Roberts]

In the Colorado ponds I fish it takes about 4 years, same in NY ponds.

[WRB]

How long does a bass usually take to get to around 12 inches? I see all the little baby bass from the recent spawn at my local lake and I can't wait to slay em!

The lake should be full of several year classes of bass, unless it's new and the bass you see are the first year class. The adult bass you want to slay are there now. During the summer period the adult size bass are out in deeper water and only come near the bank a short time during day light periods and return during low light hours and after dark.

Califronia Florida strain largemouth bass can grow to 12" in less than year, over 10 lbs is about 7 years in reservoirs. Bass in ponds are dependant on availble forage and the bass population per acre.

WRB

[Bob Lusk]

I have seen bass grow from fry to 12 inches in 8 months. I have also watched take 7 years to get to 12 inches.

Here's the deal...a fish grows as fast as can, based on the amount of food it has, its aggressive nature and its genetic propensity to grow fast.

The more food it has, the faster it grows.

Here's something you might find interesting. I have managed private lakes all over the south, southeast and the northeast. Believe it or not, lakes and ponds in upstate New York have the same number of "perfect" bass growing days as Texas has. New York has 115-120 "perfect" days. So does Texas. New York's time is compacted into the months of late May until late September. In Texas, those "perfect" days are spread from early March to late November. A "perfect" day is when water temperatures are between 53 and 83 degrees. That's when largemouth bass operate best.

The big difference is forage fish availability. New York has many fewer forage fish producing days in a year than lakes and ponds in the south. While we expect a "shorter" growing season prevents bass from having faster growth rates, the truth is that it's all about the forage fish. Thus, in the north, largemouth bass grow much more slowly.

As goes the forage fish and food chain, so goes the growth of a bass.

[Paul Roberts]

Excellent post. Interesting that NY and TX have the same number of good growing days. But, I'm now wondering, what about hours? I mean TX has to have warmer nights, over much of the year, while NY waters are having to warm up again each day following the chillier nights for much of those "perfect days". I suppose you are using mean temps, and TX just has more days above the perfect temps, that offset the apparent difference?

With correspondingly appropriate amounts of food, can growth at, say, 60F match growth at 80F?

Similarly, but an aside: What happens above 83F? Is it that there is not enough food to match the metabolic need? Or is there a basic breaking down of metabolic efficiency there, at such temps?