Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss 12 crappies on a stringer taxidermy mount

Cacil, When I catch her, you will will be hearing from me. There is no doubt in my mind that 10lbs is probable in a few years.

Do they make a reproduction casting of a 10 pound size LMB or is that too small in the scheme of trophy LMB?

No not a slam at all. I would never slam anyone on this site. We are all family here and good people.

It's just my opinion that 10 lbs. is probably not attainable in Minnesota even in a pond. But you know what they say about opinions.

I thought JHAP asked us to quit pickin on him

Dwight,let me know if you need food,heaters,massagers or anything else to get your fish to 10# Id love to show it CAN be done up north.As an on the side,I had the priviligde to meet cecil(and it was a priviligde IMHO)and thought he was an outstanding and friendly young man.
Another on the side,if you catch one about 14-16 inches long,Ill send you the lead to make it wiegh over 10# and pay postage to send it to him,but youve got to produce a pic of the look on his face when he wieghs it

Guys,

Just to show you where I'm coming from and why I don't believe Dwight can do it (and I mean no disrespect to him) here is why I feel that way:

As a taxidermist for a quarter of a century here in northern Indiana I have only seen two largemouths over 8 lbs. and neither made it to 9 lbs. Minnesota is even farther north than us and has a shorter growing season. I'll bet I've mounted a thousand bass in that time period so I do see a lot of them.

The only place where it's possible in our state to hit that double digit mark is the southern part of the state. But even there it's almost unheard of.

Cecil,thanks for that info.I didnt realize the bass didnt get that big up north(Dwight,I have high hopes for yours and the offer for the lead stands).Also,I was only kidding about the slam,hence the smiley face.
And I agree with you 100%,we are family here,which is why Im here.This is the only forum I post on with regularity,if at all.

Cecil, The South Dakota LMB record is 9 pounds 3 ounces and was caught slightly south and west of Bremer Pond.

How about a bit of a wager?

Cecil,
Take his (Dwight's) wager; within a certain time period to get it done. He wins give him some sort of a discount on the mount price. You win, and he sends you any fish to mount at full price.

No, I want money, money, money! $$$$$$$$

Seriously Dwight how about a contribution to the SDSU endowment fund of $250.00 if you don't catch a 10 lbs. bass out of your pond by a predetermined year? If you do I mount it for free complete in a glass case etc.

I also want the option of testing her DNA for Florida genes so there is no hanky panky.

How much time do you need to catch her?

The BET is on! I am liking this. The bookmakers in Vegas are probably watching this one. Any side bets?

What happened to Dwight?

Cecil, I ran into Dwight on my vacation up nort' last week. He
must be busy doing something. Bremer Pond Barge II ???

Cecil, that sounds like a cool wager too me!

To be fair, I think we should consult with Dave Willis as to the time frame. He has more experience in northern pit type ponds than anyone I know.

As starting point, I caught a 20.5 inch Bass that weighed 5.5 pounds last fall. That is the largest one I have seen so far. Considering that I don't do any supplementary feeding and knowing the average growth weight (Dave should have an idea on this) we should be able to come up with a mutually agreeable time frame.

If I get er done, I will contribute $250 to the fund and another $250 to the fund in your name. You provide the mount as you suggested.

Sounds good to me Dwight.

Cecil, Where is Doctor Dave when we need him?

Heck if Dwight catches a 10 pounder from his pond I will pay Cecil to make a replica to put in the Northern Pond display. Think it will fit Cecil.

NO!

The 10 pounder replica will need its own case with plaque because it will be a state record and probably a regional record.

Probably the best way to grow a northern 10 pound bass is to put 6-12 female bass as essentially the only predators in a one acre pond and then make sure the pond is always loaded with soft rayed forage fish that range in size from 6" to 12" long. Soft rayed is a key item to this plan. Average size of forage should increase as the bass keep getting larger. Some trout would be a good addition every fall. Ideally to do this one should have a separate forage fish small pond where lake chubsukers (max 8") and or goldfish (10"-16") are raised to add forage fish to the pond with the female bass. To make the bass "happier" one or two fins could be clipped from each supplimentally stocked forage fish. Proper fin clipping can slow down a fish's maneuverability and make it easier to capture, thus creating fat lazy bass.

That's only part of the equation. The bass will have to have a long life span with the short growing seasons up there.

I had pot bellies largemouths in my one pond that I hand feed every day. They got plenty to eat. (One was just under 6 lbs. but only 19 inches) Problem was they seemed to die early due to the fast growth. After 4 or 5 pounds they didn't live much longer.

CB1 - Very true, but at least one part of the equation (ample food) has been cancelled out. Cecil and I frequently deal with this concept in trying to grow the illusive trophy 17" yellow perch. Northern bass in cooler waters tend to have longer life spans. Now the main variable is how long will the genetics of the bass allow it to live when growing at the optimum of 1+ pounds a year?

Cecil,
I seem to remember a post where you thought that the feed trained largemouth possibly were dying of some type of liver disease due to the pellet diet. Am I remembering correctly? If so, an ample natural diet of fish should keep the LMB alive longer and possibly reach a larger size.

I'm with Bill on the supplemental prey items. Of course, that's just an opinion.

Dwight -- I don't have a purely scientific answer for you on how many years. Wish I did. If your 20-inch LMB was caught in SD, it would have to be at least 6 years old, and maybe closer to 8. To have any chance for her to get up to 10 pounds, won't you need at least 4-5 more years? Such a lifespan is feasible, but somewhat rare (i.e., a low percentage of fish would make it that long), for your latitude.

Dave, I was thinking 5 years. We'll see what Cecil thinks. Thank You.

Big GShad and trout might be the ticket.