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Not So Fast! It ISN'T AS EASY AS IT SOUNDS!

Growing Trophy Largemouth Bass
By Bob Lusk


So, you want to grow trophy largemouth bass, eh? I wish I had a nickel for every time someone has spoken those words to me. As friend and avid Pond Boss reader Cleon Almond tells me, "Says easy, does hard."

   Growing a truly huge bass is likened to winning the lottery. No, wait, it's more like the odds of being struck by lightening while you are safely asleep at home in bed. Well, that's not really quite true, either. The odds of being struck by lightning are probably more likely than growing a giant bass. Am I asking you to "settle" for a meager 10 pound bass? Maybe so, maybe no. If you understand the nature of growing huge bass, it will be much easier to understand the commitment it takes, and the consequences of that commitment.

   Now that visual stage is set, it's time to come to a greater understanding what it takes to mentally approach the concept of raising trophy largemouth bass.

   If someone were to ask you, "Where can we go to catch big bass?" you would likely have a response.. .maybe Lake Fork, Texas. But, if someone asks, "Where can we go troll for giant steelheads?" it wouldn't be Lake Fork, Texas. The real answers to both those questions start with habitat. Certain species of fish, certain sizes within those species, certain species of plants....must have particular habitat. Remember that. Fisheries management starts with habitat. Want to grow giant bass? You must have habitat for spawning, for young bass to feed and grow, for yearling bass, intermediate bass, adult bass, and topped off with the best giant bass habitat. But, that's not all. What do different size bass eat? Great managers provide "perfect" habitat for forage fish, too.
   When someone advises a landowner to build a pond, stock it with the "right" ratios of forage fish, then the right numbers of bass, then fertilize, feed, sample and analyze, understand these crucial decisions are not the only means to an end. There are a few fundamental philosophical issues to deal with, too.

   On a dreary day in 1932, farmer George Perry couldn't get to the fields to plow. So, he did what he did on days like that. With his family fighting the losing odds of the depression, he headed to Montgomery Lake, in Georgia, to catch a few fish and put some meat on the table. The rest of the story is legendary, mythical. Talk with any avid bass fisherman and you will quickly have an opinion rendered as to the validity of Perry's 22 pound 4 ounce largemouth bass. That fish is recognized today as the world record. Troupes of people seek to break that age old record, and a few have come close. Only twelve bass since 1932 have broken the twenty pound mark. Twelve largemouth bass, in the entire world.

   George Perry did what any red-blooded American in the depression would do. His family ate the fish. Only as an afterthought, on the way home to clean the creature, his fishing buddy friend suggested he enter a little known Field & Stream magazine contest for the biggest fish. Prizes were involved. Perry had the fish weighed on certified scales, witnessed, entered the contest, then took the fish home and ate it. No big deal. Oh yeah, he won the contest. Then, much later in his life, he became famous for that single fish.

   Fast forward to the 21st century. Many private lakes are designed to produce giant bass. Forage fish are stocked, sometimes overstocked, to make sure bass can't swim an inch without sucking in a mouthful of food. Genetics are always considered. Lake managers pay special attention to selective harvest techniques. Great fisheries management. But, there's more.
   As the manager, as the one in charge of that fishery, stay focused on the four key elements. You must do that. Here they are, in order. Get them out of order, don't expect great fish. Habitat, first. Focus on that. Next, food chain. If you feed them, they will grow. Third, genetics. Genetics are absolutely essential to producing trophy largemouth bass. Last, and probably the most important, once everything else is in place, is proper harvest.

   Small bass live like small bass. They travel in schools, herding, ganging up on smaller fish, eating like the little machines they are. Larger bass feed on larger prey, and so on, up the food chain. Raising trophy bass is a delicate combination of cover, structure, forage fish, water quality, water chemistry, aquatic plants, genetics, and variety of size ranges of all species of fish. A huge part of the equation is the dynamics of change. Water changes, fish spawn, fish eat, are eaten. Plants come, plants go. Temperatures rise, temperatures fall. Weather influences growth patterns of fish, and impacts habitat and ever-changing dynamics. This is where most people lose ground. Most folks, including the best biologists in the world, don't have a good grasp on many of the factors which actually influence trophy largemouth bass. Take a look at California, for example. Castaic, Lake Casitas, Lake Poway, Lake Dixon... small drinking water impoundments near giant cities. These lakes have produced huge bass. But, what seems to be the limiting factor in these lakes is the fact they are regularly stocked with rainbow trout. Succulent rainbow trout, tossed into a bass factory. If the simple fact supplementally stocking forage size rainbow trout were the complete answer, someone somewhere would have duplicated it, with similar results. And, these famous California lakes, with or without trout, haven't yet broken the magic number of a world record. So, is the focus completely on the food chain for Florida strain bass?

   Focus only on the food chain and expect to fail. Don't focus on the food chain and expect to fail.
   Here's where philosophical attitudes play a huge role. Large bass grow huge in stages. Understand each stage, as it happens, and your odds of success rise. Don't get caught up in the fact that bass are hatched, eat and are eaten. That happens every day. Stay focused on providing habitat, food, genetics and harvest of each stage of bass life. Small fish need dense cover and tiny morsels of food. Intermediate size bass need medium size forage fish and moderately dense cover. Large bass eat large meals, often intermediate size bass, five to seven inch bluegill, threadfin shad, tilapia...anything and everything which fits into its mouth, and is moving.

   Become an expert at raising forage fish and diversifying the food chain. Monitor bass growth rates, pay attention to productivity of your water. Know when each species of fish spawn. Enhance the gene pool of forage fish and largemouth bass every few years, to ensure fresh, known genetics. Understanding the biology of water yields phytoplankton, then zooplankton, then insects. Understanding fertility and plankton leads to a better understanding of the food chain for newly hatched fish and tiny insects. This is significant, especially considering it takes at least ten pounds of forage fish to grow one pound of largemouth bass. That's growing, folks, not maintaining.

   When habitat, food chain and genetics fit, harvest becomes most crucial. A lake, managed for maximum productivity, reaches its maximum production level at some point. Fisheries managers call that status, "carrying capacity." As a manager, you get to figure out what that point is. Simply speaking, a unit of water can produce a given amount of living mass. Part of that mass is tied up in plants, some of it in insects, some in fish. Predators sit atop that food chain, and in largemouth bass lakes, guess who sits at the very top? Largemouth bass. Size distribution becomes an issue. So many mouths to feed, so much feed for them. Critical thinking comes into play at this crucial point. You must harvest bass, as your lake reaches maximum productivity and carrying capacity. If you don't harvest, the food chain suffers and bass growth rates decline, usually within a specific size range. When that happens, dynamics shift toward a bass heavy state, and the entire food chain is disrupted. If you don't harvest enough bass, the food chain declines, bass growth is interrupted. Harvest too many bass and expect the food chain for intermediate size bass to skyrocket, and food chains for the largest bass are disrupted. Remember, large bass eat large meals. Balance the food chain for the balance of bass.

   I know...this seems too complicated to be fun. But, it's really huge fun, especially when you actually understand how all these different factors come together in the ultimate trophy bass fishery. So, a concise summary is in order. Here's the recipe to increase your odds of growing huge bass.

   First, create the best habitat in the best quality of water. Clean water, cover, structure, spawning areas... winning combinations in the best lakes. Create cover for small fish, medium size fish and big fish. If you intend to stock different species of fish, think about the habitat those types of fish need. Provide the habitat.

   Stay focused on the food chain...for all fish. It's actually more important to feed tiny fish than it is to feed big fish. Feed small fish and watch the big fish thrive. Fertility, feeding stations, water quality management, stages of plankton growth.. .keys to the success of food chain management.

   Genetics are huge. Want giant bass? You must have Florida genetics. Could you be limited by geography? Sure. That's another story. But, don't stock Florida strain bass in the beginning and expect them to carry you straight to the top over the long haul. It won't work. Integrate genetics as an ongoing project. Fish grow, then breed. Recruitment inevitably impacts the quality of your fishery. If one of momma's boys breeds with her in three years, she won't know it, he won't know it...it's natural progression. It's also inbreeding. Add genetics from time to time.
   If habitat is great, food chain is constantly worked for the best production of the most forage fish, and genetics are thoughtfully enhanced, selective harvest becomes the next test. Be picky about what is removed and what is released. The fishery tells you, if you listen. Weigh and measure as many bass as you can, as often as you can.

   Habitat, Food Chain, Genetics and Selective Harvest. Solid fisheries management. Now, if the stars line up, and a few of your genetically superior aggressive fish actually survive to adulthood, you stand a chance to grow a bass well into double digits. Can you grow a ten pound bass? Yes, you can. Good management in a moderate environment increases your odds. Can you grow a thirteen pounder? Maybe. A fifteen pounder? Only if you approach your fishery with a well defined, well executed plan. A seventeen pound bass? Probably not. If you grow a seventeen pound largemouth bass, everything is perfect, your stars have lined up, and that bass is an anomaly. Congratulations..buy a lottery ticket right away. You have won.

Fish Genetics: Hope or Hype?

By Bob Lusk


A Missouri landowner with a new pond recently phoned me here at the fish hatchery asking about prices on Florida bass fingerlings. During the conversation, it became clear his vision extends far beyond a plastic bag full of little wiggly creatures no more than two inches long.

   Like so many pond owners, this guy is looking into the future. Some day, he wants to set the hook and see his rod bend double. He wants to feel the power of a huge bass heading for Canada, muscling its way toward deeper, safer water.

   The landowner wants to feel his heart race, while doing battle with one of nature's top freshwater predator fish. This pondmeister wants to grow giant bass, and he wants to know if his fish have the genetic makeup to fulfill his vision.

   Another pond owner in central Iowa calls Pond Boss World Headquarters, asking for information on the genetics of trout he's about to stock from private hatcheries. He's worried that trout won't survive the winter ice cap on his shallow pond.
   This trout enthusiast has a personal goal for his stocking project, and he has a budget. He just wants to spend money wisely. If Farmer Jones can buy eight-inch trout, grow them to a pound and a half in six or seven months, he wants to play. If that's not possible, he needs to start with larger fish. Bigger fish cost more, and he gets a lower head count.
   Do genetics play a role in these decisions? Should the amateur pond manager even be concerned with his fish genetics?

   They can be quite important, says long-time fisheries biologist Barry Smith. He and his partner Don Keller run American Sportfish Hatchery near Montgomery, AL. After years of serving pond owners in the Southeast, they long ago saw benefits from infusing a population of largemouth with Florida bass genes.

   "One of the most obvious (incentives) is size potential," Smith said. "There's plenty of published scientific literature, especially in south and southeast states, that prove Florida strains of bass play huge roles in potential for growth.

   "If you are a trophy bass person, the likelihood of growing bass over 10 pounds is low, unless you consider genetics. Your fish need the influence of Florida genes."
   Studies show that, even in ideal conditions of a well-managed system full of forage, native largemouth seldom grow larger than 22 to 24 inches and weigh more than eight pounds. But Florida bass may not be the absolute end-all answer for pond owners in the Upper Midwest, or for ponds where catching numbers of fish is more important than catching an occasional giant.
   Research papers published in Alabama and Texas point out that Florida bass genetics play a key role in catchability, Smith says. Fisheries scientists call it, "angling vulnerability."
   For years, biologists have known Florida bass grow larger, live longer, but tend to be more wary and less tolerant of boat traffic and other human presence, which makes them tougher to catch with rod and reel on artificial baits.

   In test ponds at Heart O' the Hills Research Station near Kerrville, Texas Parks and Wildlife staff found they could catch native bass repeatedly on a certain lure. Meanwhile, pure-strain Florida-bass in an adjacent pond quickly would begin to ignore the same lure, making them significantly harder to catch than their native (or northern) cousins.
   So, if a bass with Florida genes seldom eats and becomes lure-shy, how does it ever reach 10 pounds? Smith has an answer, or at least a theory based on 20-plus years of field work.
   "Florida bass behave differently than natives," Smith said. "Each spring, we bring up our brood fish from earthen holding ponds, keeping the genetic strains separate, and put them into large concrete holding tanks, until we pair and stock them for spawning. While the fish are confined in the concrete tanks, we add forage fish to each vat."

   The difference in behavior becomes readily apparent.

   "The native fish go nuts, eating forage fish so fast they gorge themselves," Smith said. "The natives do that until their stomachs can hold no more, or until the forage fish are gone"
   Florida-strain bass, Smith says, tend to be more cautious, feeding only when hungry.
   "All things being equal," he said, "forage fish in a holding tank of Floridas will last at least three days."
   Pass the Grey Poupon.

   "Aggressiveness of native bass is inheritable," Smith said. "Introduce a native northern fish, he will be easier to catch, and so will his offspring."
   Years ago, this caused Smith and Keller, and other fisheries consultants, to re-evaluate their stocking strategies for ponds. Today, most consultants try to balance size with catchability. Thinking pond owners arrive at these decisions after considering management goals they have set for their ponds.
   Do you want your guests to catch lots of fish? Or do you want the challenge and potential for frustration that goes with trying to land a lunker? Smith tries for the best of both worlds.
   "Now we recommend a cross between pure strain Floridas with native stocks, the Fl hybrid," Smith said. "The native stocks we have selected have been culled for aggressiveness for more than 10 years.

   Other consultants and hatcheries also recommend mixing gene pools. From my own field experience in southern Oklahoma and Arkansas, climate can be a problem. Florida bass don't like cold water, and I have found that to be true as far south as northern Texas, in the Panhandle and just north of the Red River.
   Each pond is different, of course, with variations in water clarity, depth, food sources, water quality and bottom features. For clients in this general geographic region, we at Texoma Hatchery recommend that clients use a mix of native northern bass with Floridas. In time, that gives us the Fl hybrid, with the characteristics we like.
   If your pond lies much north of the 35th parallel it may be wise to hedge your genetic bet. But even above a line from, say, Fresno to Albuquerque to Tulsa to Chattanooga to Charlotte, there's hope for the Florida bass, at least in some limited applications.
   "Stay local," says Mark Harbin of Harbin Fish & Bait Farm of Harper, KS. "Stock fish that have already adjusted to your climate.
   "Work with local fisheries biologists to learn where to find those stocks. Don't expect Florida bass raised in Texas to do well if they're stocked in Nebraska ponds. They won't. Find fish native to your region."
   Genetics play a significant role for pondmeisters interested in rapid growth, larger fish, and catchability. Fish hatcheries look at genetics for different reasons than huge sizes and catchability. Catfish and trout farms continually select fish for consistent growth rates and resistance to disease. Different markets, different production needs.
   Since fish farms grow fish at far high population densities than recreational ponds, diseases can become an issue. When over-crowded, catfish are subjected to conditions such as channel catfish virus disease and a variety of parasites and bacteria. In trout, whirling disease is always of concern.

   To minimize expensive medications and quarantines, commercial fish farms give more than a cursory look to genetic selectivity. Departments of Natural Resources and Game and Fish Commissions around the country keep a watchful eye on genetic works of public and private hatcheries, to protect and defend the nation's stocks of "native" fishes, especially waterways with trout. That's where questions on private trout production find answers.
   When it comes to managing a pond for trout and other gamefish, Chuck Gruentzelm, 77, aquatic biologist from Gillett, WI, draws on decades of practical experience.
   "I have raised different varieties of trout in the past, and I understand our DNR is working with hybrid strains," pond environment plays a more significant role for trout than genetics, so I wonder about the necessity of genetic selection of trout for recreational ponds."
   Trout do not naturally hybridize, Gruentzelm says, so people tend to use fish produced from commercial hatcheries.

   "I have had more problems dealing with genetics of sunfish than trout," Gruentzelm said, making pointed reference to the genetic alteration using female green sunfish crossed with male bluegill.
   His point: One of the attractions of hybrid fish is that they are thought to grow large and to be sterile, so the pond owner has full control over population dynamics. When it comes to hybrid sunfish, this is false on both counts. Fact is, other sunfish species grow larger than the green sunfish, and many species of hybrids reproduce.
   In Michigan waters, where Dave Ouawinga of Stoney Creek in Grant, MI is based, the kamloop rainbow trout has caused a stir.
   "For our region, that's a faster growing genetic strain, but the kamloop is pretty much the extent of genetic selection we use," Ouawinga said. "The kamloop's feed conversion rate is good, and growth rates are good. There are a few strains of German brown trout, that were considerably slower growing. We stopped using those, and focused on kamloop trout."
   So does it make sense for you to dive into the genetic pool? That depends on your management goals. In the case of Florida bass genes, they may be a huge plus for some pond owners, a hindrance for others.

   As for the pond owner in Missouri, if he stocks Florida bass in the Show Me State, it's something of an experiment. The proof, as they say, will be in the pond.

The author, a 20 year veteran fisheries biologist, is working on his third book, "Desiging and Building Your Own Pond." He may be reached at Texoma Hatchery (903) 564-5372.

The location has changed time zones, but the elusive quest remains the same - to catch the next world record bass.

As everyone enviously knows, for 77 or so years, angler George Perry of Georgia has stumped us all by retaining the unattainable 22 lb 4 oz world record for the largest largemouth bass ever caught.

In recent years, there have been a rash of stories and photos of several fish caught in California, that were said to hover around the magic mark, but missed going down in the record books, for some reason or other.

Then a few months ago, news flash-flooded the Internet bass fishing websites of a new potential world record contender, Manabu Kurita of Japan who it's said has landed a bass caught in Lake Biwa, Japan weighing barely over Perry's record 22lbs 4oz.

"The potential new world record caught a few months ago in Japan was a real eye-opener or huge surprise for many USA anglers who may have only heard about light tackle finesse fishing in Japan, and never realized that there are such lunkers in Japan as well," states Matt Paino, CEO of Optimum Baits who lived six years in Japan while he attended university there and established Optimum Baits business in Japan.

According to Matt, "Japan's anglers, and specifically their devoted big bass hunters are well aware of the truly big bass there, world record class, but have always felt that Japan does not get enough recognition for its trophy bass potential. They feel the world thinks more of California and Mexico as trophy waters, and that Japan does not get the trophy bass recognition it deserves."


Kazuya Shimada holds Japan's 19.15 record bass since 2003

"Fact is," says Matt, "that Japan's 19.15 lb record fish (caught on an Optimum swimbait) is right on par with Mexico's national record bass (which is also the entire Central American (including Cuba) record. So although Mexico and Cuba are often cited as potential world record producers, Japan has a fish in the record books already that's equivalent to Mexico or Cuba's biggest ever! And there are only two US states that have bested Japan's official record - George Perry's Georgia and California. Texas is oft-cited as a potential world record state, but currently has an 18+ on top. Mississippi sits at 18+ too, and Florida at 17-4."

"The next step - toppling the world record, can happen in Japan. Indeed, the word is out that scuba divers saw numerous bass all over 20lbs. in Lake Biwa recently, which is where Manabu Kurita's catch came from, and although worldwide eyes are now pinned on Lake Biwa, there are two other lakes in Japan that many believe have world record bass swimming in them."

Two of the places that most of the big fish hunters customarily go to are:

1) Ikehara in the Nara Prefecture
2) Nana Iro Dam in Wakayama & Miya Prefectures

"The food source is a little different for trophy bass in Japan. First of all, bluegill but also eels and 'hera' - a species in the carp family. Hera are not as prolific as threadfin or shad for example, but they are very prevalent throughout the Japanese lakes. They look like a hitch or even a tilapia in profile. Just a chunky morsel. Hera, eels and bluegill are the protein sources that fuel the growth of record size trophy bass in Japan," explains Paino.

"The climate is comparable to the southern USA in summer, but also snows in winter. There's lots of rain in the regions of the big bass lakes, and I believe this all serves as a conducive growing season and climate for bass, and plays into how big they get."


At a recent tackle show, US bass pro Fred Roumbanis and Jun Shoji, a Lake Biwa fishing guide and one of the top pros in Japan in recent years, fantasized about catching the next world record together at Lake Biwa in the near future.