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

As I was reading some studies last night that referred to large male LMB defending spawning beds to be the best breeders for lunker females. Though they are easily targeted for being more aggressive than non-dominate males.

So my question what is a average size male LMB, and what is a great size for a male LMB in southern waters?

Personal observation...1-3 lbs is pretty normal, with 4 or better HUGE. I have heard, but not seen myself, of males in the 7-8 range (and why can I never find of these guys during a tournament?).

You will usually see the largest females that you see on beds with larger males. Not always, but usually.




Worked with a professor on some biomonitoring experiments using largemouth one summer. I caught around 50 bass (in Louisiana waterways that would likely be almost pure northern strain) and we determined sex. Not a one over 2 lbs was a male. I caught fish from 1-5 lbs.

I guess my question would be then, do the males grow at the same rate as females for the first 2-3 years? I'm trying to figure out a way just to target the smaller non aggressive males, and leave the larger males alone and not catch them off beds.

Male LMB are smaller and especially in the Fla strain where the differences are vey pronounced. The nonaggressive males will likely not be caught with traditional angling methods. See below from PB Mag Cutting Edge 38

Recreational Fishing Selectively Captures Individuals with the Highest Fitness Potential by David A. H. Suttera et al involving largemouth bass and was called Aggressiveness - it should have been obvious – it’s in the genes . Its main finding was that the trait “catchability or vulnerability to angling” positively correlates with 1) aggression, 2) intensity of parental care, and 3) reproductive fitness. We noted then that it should be obvious to all of us by now that there are possibly other fish traits that are genetic and that such traits are exhibited in multiple ways. Next up , Bluegill boldness (aggressiveness - measured in both the lab and lake. The two companion studies are Boldness and behavioral syndromes in the bluegill sunfish, Lepomis macrochirus, Alexander D.M. Wilson and Jean-Guy J. Godin in Behavioral Ecology doi:10.1093/beheco/arp018 Advance Access publication 10 February 2009 and Capture technique and fish personality: angling targets timid bluegill sunfish , Alexander D.M. Wilson, Thomas R. Binder, Keegan P. McGrath, Steven J. Cooke, and Jean-Guy J. Godin in Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. Vol. 68, 2011. Noted in these papers are prior studies that provide evidence that boldness/aggressiveness is correlated with fitness , activity level , use of space , anti-predator behavior , mate selection/ reproductive success , foraging and other traits. Based on these and other studies it appears more and more that a large portion of these related traits are genetically linked and heritable.

Thanks for the post ewest. If not by traditional angling methods, so mainly live bait or electro-fishing? If these males are caught, how could someone tell the difference? RW charts or use another form of apples to apples comparisons?

Methods are determined by goals. ES or live bait could work. If I was trying to remove small males that were non-aggressive I would avoid the ones guarding nests and go after those not spawning during the spawn. RW can be misleading around spawn time as can other measurements of condition factor.