Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Sunfish-Including Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass LMB Question

I know there has to be info on this in the records, but I'm not finding it.

What's the minimum size LMB I could get in order to eat 2" and 4" BG.

Also, whatever size bass that turns out to be. What size YP would they be able to consume?

If this info is somewhere and I can be pointed to it, I would be very appreciative.

LMB can eat prey roughly 1/3 to 1/4 their body length. It is really about gape size which is more constrained when eating sunfish (BG) due to their height (body and spines). On small BG (2 in. or less) the range is close but on 4 in. BG the size of LMB required is at the upper end of the range.

Big difference between 2" and 4" BG.

I'm sure an 8-9" LMB or even smaller, will attack a 2" BG.

But a 4" BG will be pretty safe unless you have alot bigger bass than 8-9".

Probably about the same for yellow perch size, they are not so tall as BG but they are spiny.

I know the YP are much much more slender, but I was worried about the spines as well.

I'll go with the safe bet Ewest and use 1/4 their body length for my purposes.

Thank you!

Good estimates for the BG that LMbass will eat. If I had 4" BG to be consumed by bass I would plan to use 14"-15" bass to be on the 'safe' side. For largemouth eating YP, expect LMB to eat YP up to 1/2 the bass length.

In a 1/4 acre pond it should be safe to assume that the every fish has the potential to run into the largest predator multiple times right? I guess this seems like a dumb question, but I'd rather ask it than not ask

That statement would have some validity in my mind...