World record Bass

[santa dan]

I know it's been a while since it was caught but can anyone tell me was this new fish a male or female and was she spond out. Then the question comes up if it was female and full of eggs were these harvested and put back into the system somehow or is this another set of large fish genes gone from the gene pool forever

[Raul]

Males don 't grow that large, record class bass are all females. Through all her life her genes were given to a multitude of litters so when she 's gone her genes are not gone. Let 's suppose for amoment that she was full of eggs, what 's the point in "harvesting" the eggs if they aren 't viable ?.

[santa dan]

Granted that she has been around a long time and there are many litters out there with her genes but that being said what is the purpose of caught and release of large trophy sized fish. secondly the eggs could very well have been viable if harvested soon after she was caught. As far as males not getting that large Is there that one in a million chance that one could. I mean she was a one in a million fish to start with

[J Francho]

Trophy fish are almost always more about environment than genetics.  genetics play a part, but fish grow throughout their lives, and environmental aspects are what grow monsters.

[Raul]

Genes aren 't always THE THING, genes are only a part of what makes a trophy fish a trophy fish. Three factors are needed to create a monster sized bass just as creating the fastest racing horse/dog, or the most milk productive cow:

1.- Genes

2.- Environment

3.- Food

Those three have to be in balance otherwise any flaw in any of the three factors and you won 't get to that level. Superior genes without the proper environment and without the proper food are pretty much worthless.

[Bobby Uhrig]

Genetics  are prioritized but they do not work without the perfect conditions to apply them to.You can have all of the perfect  dominant  genes but if the  growing conditions arent right -it dosent matter.

[Raul]

Genetics are prioritized but they do not work without the perfect conditions to apply them to.You can have all of the perfect dominant genes but if the growing conditions arent right -it dosent matter.

Exactly, for the people not in the know, they have this beleif that genetics are everything and no they aren 't, genes can only expres in perfect environmental and nutritional conditions.

[RoLo]

Male bass rarely exceed 3 pounds, which is a major reason why 3-lbs represents

such a stubborn weight-plateau. One of the heaviest males on record weighed 6 lbs.

Trophy game fish of all species are the result of several factors,

but being the offspring of supernatural parents is not one of them.

To be sure, it's very elating to release a double-digit bass, but I have yet

to entertain the notion that it will produce other double-digit bass.

The odds are low that a very old fish will even make it to the next spawning season.

But even if it does, fish of advanced age are past their reproductive prime,

which wanes with every passing year. Mother Nature never relaxes her responsibility

to ensure "survival of the fittest", and the oldest is never the fittest.

Consequently, old specimens are slowly phased out of competition.

For example, old buck deer eventually fail to grow antlers (nicknamed baldies).

Despite their age and experience, Mother Nature does not want old bucks

to reproduce. In similar manner, fish of advanced age are ultimately unable to spawn,

not unlike an 80-year old **** sapiens.

Within the genome, trophy potential hinges on two primary criteria:

A) Subspecies

Gender

Differently put, if you're dealing with a female Florida-strain bass there's probably

nothing 'innately' special about your 12-lb bass.

Beside the two inherent factors however, there are two environmental variables

that contribute enormously to trophy potential:

A) Growth Rate

Old-Age Potential (hinging on climate and fishing pressure)

Roger

[roadwarrior]

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1226342926/9

Genetics, structure/ cover and forage.

8-)

[SDoolittle]

Male bass rarely exceed 3 pounds, which is a major reason why 3-lbs represents

such a stubborn weight-plateau. One of the heaviest males on record weighed 6 lbs.

Any idea what the heaviest male smallmouth or spot might be?

[Tin]

Didn't Flukey hit a 5+ pound male out of Lake Fork on one of the BR trips?

[J Francho]

That's cold, I just spit beer allover the place!!!!

[fourbizz]

I have seen several 5-6 lb males spawning with big females.

[Bobby Uhrig]

Ive said this in an earlier post-I was with Tim Simos(World Renowned Underwater Photographer) here in New Jersey filming a 4-5 lb male spawning on ONE bed with four 6 lb females..That was the largest male I had ever seen. It was documented in BassMaster Magazine and was on the cover of Bass West a while back. To see pics go to www.bluewaterimages.net      Then go to the freshwater drop down check out the pics then after that go to Magazine cover gallery. We filmed them spawning for 6 hours. One of my most memorable days filming- Im sure the male bass can say the same/

[Tin]

Quote

That's cold, I just spit beer allover the place!!!!

No being serious, I remember hang out at LBH's place one day and he was showing me roadtrip pics and one with a solid 5 and I remember Russ saying they were amazed by it because it was a male.

[Tin]

I have seen several 5-6 lb males spawning with big females.

I've seen plenty of 3 pound males so I'm sure there must be bigger ones out where you are Jay.

[NorcalBassin]

One of my most memorable days filming- Im sure the male bass can say the same/

He's probably still dreaming of that memorable spring!

;D

[Glenn]

Keri and I fished a lake last spring where we caught numerous males off beds -- all of them were over 4 pounds. 

The females....man....they were huge....7-9 pounds easy, no problem.  The biggest was at least 10.  Never caught the any of the females, but it was clear how big they were compared to the males.

What a day!  8-)

[George Welcome]

Ref. sex determinization of largemouth bass by Dr. Allen Curry, noted biologist:

How does one determine the sex of a largemouth bass?

Allen replies:

Sexing bass during the spawning season it is pretty straightforward. The mature females will have noticeably extended bellies (filled with eggs) or sunken bellies (eggs have been laid). Most of these females will also have an 'ovipositor' (small, tube-like structure that is usually red) extending from their 'urogenital opening' (the opening on their underside where they also discharge wastes). The other bass we assume are mature males, at least the largest ones. The smaller bass are a mix of immature females and males, but we don't know how to tell them apart without cutting them open to look for eggs or milt. During the rest of the year it is the same problem.

There is no guaranteed way to know if a bass is a female or male by just looking at them. I asked my tournament friends who handle bass all the time and they agree that it is not possible to accurately sex a bass from looks alone.

Hope this helps.

Allen

How do we assure big largemouth bass:

The scientific community is out to lunch on this one. No one has the vaguest idea: if they did then the lakes would be loaded with them.

George

[WRB]

Genetics = female Florida strain largemouth black bass

Environment= very low fishing pressure with excellent water quality, deep water sanctuary, good cover areas for recruitment or survival the first year.

Food = abundance of easy to eat high protein bait fish and crayfish.

The primary factor is Florida strain, without that factor the growth potential is limited to 16 lbs or less, with everything else being equal.

WRB

[fourbizz]

The other way to be sure is one of them is rolling with a fish over 15lbs and constantly ramming her in the stomach with its mouth. That seems like a pretty concrete way to tell ;D

[RoLo]

Male bass rarely exceed 3 pounds, which is a major reason why 3-lbs represents

such a stubborn weight-plateau. One of the heaviest males on record weighed 6 lbs.

Any idea what the heaviest male smallmouth or spot might be?

Interesting question.

I've never encountered data regarding maximal weights of male smallies or spots.

On balance though, smallmouth bass weigh about 60% of largemouth bass.

If it were proportioinal, male bronzebacks probably ceiling around 3½ lbs.

Roger

[WRB]

I caught a 7 lb male largemouth from San Vincente lake in San Diego area, CA, back in 1971.

Larry Bothroff, SD biologist, was at the lake and examined the fish, took a scale to study. Larry told me at the time the bass was the largest male* he had examined at that time period. The bass was about 24" long, big head and thin body.

I will look at some old photos and believe there is one of this bass.

WRB

* the fish was leaking milt.

[Bass_Akwards]

Trophy fish are almost always more about environment than genetics.  genetics play a part, but fish grow throughout their lives, and environmental aspects are what grow monsters.

True, but within any given environment, genitics plays the biggest role in growing true monsters.

[J Francho]

Why the big font?  And prove it.  Show me a study.  If you mean genetics, as in Florida strain vs. Northern strain, then OK.  Fish grow until they die.  Environment (and I include forage in that) is key.