I was fishing a bit today and caught an 8 inch largemouth. The only bass I stocked were 3" LMB approximately 2 months ago. I have, however discovered that there are some mystery fish in the 3 year old pond. In June, I had a 16" LMB actually jump into my rowboat (I wasn't fishing...just rowing)!!! The only thing I had previously stocked (about a year prior) were YP and fatheads. This is a rain-filled earth pond with no inlet or outlet. 2 hours later, I caught a 12" bullhead. I removed the bullhead from the pond, but with the bass, I was so surprised that I had it (and that it jumped in the boat) that I quickly threw it in the water without thinking about how it might chow on future stockings...and I stocked several hundred small fish a couple weeks later. I am sure he is thankful and eating very expensive dinners.
Long story aside, my question is:
Should my 3" bass now be pushing 8" after 2 months if there was plenty to eat (fatheads, gambusia, tadpoles, bugs, etc)?
Or is this another mystery bass that is going to eat my fingerlings panfish?
