Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations LMB Growth

How fast will LMB grow? My wife thinks that I'm crazy but I swear that the LMB in the pond have grown 4 to 5 inches in the last two months!

Oldfarm pond completely empted and redug. Close to 2 acres, up to 35 to 40 ft deep. Last two years we caught River chub and smaller GSF, NO sign of any LMB. Last spring cleaned up the wood pile and found fish carcasses that sure looked like LMB.

This spring came across a couple of winter kill fish that also looked like LMB. Confirmed with a catch in June:


Wish I had a photo of the one from last night but it was BIG. OK not like world record size but for my pond BIG. The LMB in the photo was scrawny compared to last night.

The River Chub have disappered, the GSF are growing, and we also have found several Bullhead hatchs, so plenty of natural feed along with frogs and crayfish.

How fast will a LMB grow on natural food?

For Alabama Reservoirs,
Average Bass Length (inches) At Various Ages

1yr- 6.9 inches
2yr- 10.6 inches
3yr- 13.3 inches
4yr- 15.4 inches
5yr- 17.2 inches

HH, this information is from the Alabama Dept of Conservation. Growth rates vary in different impoundments due to several circumstances. Growth is dependent on the abundance of the right size forage and its availability. Also, the length of the growing season plays a big part. The growing season in Iowa will be a good bit shorter than in the warm southern states. Habitat and water quality will also play a role.

My advice is to make sure your LMB's have all the forage they need to maintain their maximum weights. Keep records of the fish you catch and their RW's. If the food is there, they will eat it. Let your bass be all they can be!

What about growth rate in south carolina if you dont mind . Thanx a ton.

LMB average growth rate in AL, MS, GA, LA, Carolinas, TN, AK will all be similar due to similar latitudes. As Snapper says growth will be highly dependant on amount of food and correct size of food available for each size of bass. Genetics of the broodstock and numbers per acre can have an impact upon growth rate. Cut down on the food and growth slows, right size of plentiful food then growth is typically good or great. Average growth rates reflect average food supply. At certain sizes bass can optimally grow 4"-6" in one summer. Once bass get to 18" their growth in length per year typically slows down compared to the annual length increase of smaller bass. Bass larger than 18"-19" have to add a lot of body mass or weight for each increase of one inch in length compared to bass less than 18", thus length increase is not as great per yr as for big bass.

To let you know for our clients (in the SE, lower altitude)wanting "good" bass fishing I expect:
1 yr- 11 inches
2 yr- 15 inches
3 yr- 18 inches
4 yr- 20 inches
5 yr- 22 inches
>6 yr ?- we get growth rates much better than this routinely

The above AL numbers are not from managed ponds and thus proper management SHOULD result in much better bass growth rates.