Comment about fish in Photo No 4.
Identification of this fish is problematic. Body markings of small or junvenile bgill can be quite variable even in the same water body. Variability of body markings can be due to several factors which I will not get into here. A positive identification is even more difficult from photographs, although your photograps are pretty good and good enough for me to make some comments.
ewest is getting better at sunfish identification. I think ewest's ID's are pretty good except for fish No 4 and this is why:
1. Note the No 1 fish (RES - I agree with ewest) appears stunted because I think the eye diameter is noticably disproportionate to the head size. In the photos, compare the eye size of all the fish which are of similar size. Large eye size is not a key physical feature of RES. Disproportionate eye size typically occurs in stunted fish.
2. Eye size of fish No 4 could be very slightly enlarged but not to the extreme of fish 1. This indicates to me that since fish 1 & 4 are quite close to the same size they "should" be of the same age class. Thus, ASSUMING both fish came from the same pond, and if both were the SAME species they should have similar food availability, food habits, life style habits, growth rates and similar sized eyes which is not the case. Thus I think they are likely different species. If fish 1&4 came from different ponds then this does not apply.
3. Look closely at the total length of the pectorial (side) fin of fish 1 & 4. In fish 1, the pectorial fin extends "quite a ways" past the end of the pelvic (front lower) fin, to even past the insertion of the anal fin. Thus the pectorial fin is quite long in fish 1 which is a character of RES. In fish 4 the pectorial fin "might" just reach the insertion of the anal fin. Pectorial fin is measurably shorter in fish no 4 compared to fish 1. Thus I think they are different and probably different species.
4. Opercle (gill) flaps. Look at the gill flaps of the lower 3 fish (likely all BG). The length of the flaps of 3,4,5, is variable esp on fish 5 where it is longer and back side is more rounded than of fish 3&4. But the important feature I think is to look at the shape of front portion of the dark gill spot on fish 3,4,5. Spots appear to not extend very far onto gill cover and they end as essentially a vertical mark or line. Spots appear to end anteriorly at the intersection of the subopercular and opercular bones. This is definately not the case on fish No 1. It's gill spot is rounded anteriorly and extends farther onto the gill cover or farther onto the opercular bone compared to fish 3,4,&5.
5. There are a few other minor differences but the four that I provided above are enough for me to think fish 1 and 4 are not the same species. Fish 4 could be a hybrid BG but I doubt it. I think it is just a color pattern variation of a BG.
All this is ID stuff specific and not important to your topic of gorwing bigger bass. All the fish in your photos appear to be around 4.2"-4.7"(GSF may be slightly smaller) long which are very good food items for LMbass in the 13"-15" category. Thus this is probably why you have seen your LMB grow from 13"-14" to the next size group larger of 15"-16". Keep in mind that for these large bass to efficiently grow to the 17"-18" class they SHOULD have an abundance of slightly larger sunfishes in the 5"-6" range.
