That's over-simplified to me. Differences in forage type and size can create this, BUT, I do believe a fish has to-at some point-be X weight to achieve Y length, but if it doesn't continue to eat the most bang for the buck (FCR), the other fish will pass and out-grow it. Maybe the 22 had an easy year or 2, but it's missed out on something, it's lost weight since and growth slows way down. The 20 will more than likely pass it in the next year.
I've seen this in WAE we've tagged in fall net samples and recaptured 1-2 years later in spawning nets. The largest fish tagged are not always the largest when recaptured, in fact I'd say it's a 50/50 deal. Very hard to predict.
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