Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Big Head Bass

I caught this big-head/little body LMB today (Dec.22, 2005) on our 17-acre pond. Yes, we have plenty of BG on which the bass all eat, but this is the second time I have landed this particular bass--no fish tale.

I first caught this same fish around Thanksgiving, around a month ago. How do I know? Look at it, how can you forget its shape. Also, I place my fish on a stringer and this fish had a gap exactly where I pinned it the first time.
(Don't worry, I find it hard to believe myself and would have shrugged it off if my wife didn't agree that it was the same fish.)

The other bass we catch this time of year are all proportionally "normal."

The LMB in our pond primarily eat BG, which are very plentiful and are fed in the warmer months with commercial fish food from the feed store.

If this fish had a body to go with its head, it would weigh at least 8-10 pounds. We measured it to be almost 24 inches long.

We landed this fish on the north end of the pond which is very low at this time of the year due to the drought. I would estimate that it is only about 12-16 inches deep with lots of vegetation about 9 inches under the surface. Again, we caught it on a 7" plastic lizard.

[img]http://www.rodscalvarywebsite.com/content.asp?SID=1288&CID=86825[/img]

Maybe this will work.

Big Head Fish

Several possibilities come to mind. I have caught disproportianate fish like that before and most had eyesight problems. I also see something around the tail that looks like some sort of disease.

One thing is for sure. The fish was having a really tough time making a living. With that size head, it is obviously an old fish that had evaded hooks for quite a few years. Being caught twice within 30 days says that it was desperate and had lost its wariness or maybe its ability to recognize lures. It might have been old and had trouble competing. I bet it wasn't much of a fight.

Building on what Dave posted, maybe you shouldn't eat this one.

Dave is basically correct. Typically bass with heads that are disproportionately large compared to the rest of the body have eating problems or problems getting enough food. Another possibility is the fish has an internal parasite problem such as bass tape worm. In these cases the head continues to enlarge normally while the body grows at a slower pace due to reduced nutrition levels. I suspect that as the fish became old it has encountered a more difficult time capturing food, hunger prevales and wariness has decreased. Thus you are able to catch it more frequently. I am guessing this fish does not have a lot of years left in its life span.

It's not unusual to catch a LMB that is displaying various symptoms such as this.Although, I've never seen one that long.If most of your other bass are healthy ,you probably are ok. Sometimes I see bass with curved spines,heavy parasite infections,etc. Just keep an eye on length/weight ratios as you catch fish.