jpsdad,
Was that bass foraging in open water?
If so, then your observation may show the importance of "ambush cover" for bass.
That factor could actually be more important than the size and quantity of available forage!
If a bass has to expend the energy of 50 attempts to catch a meal compared to a bass that only has to expend the energy of 3 attempts to catch a meal, then the latter bass could grow more quickly - even with less than optimal available forage.
P.S. How were you observing the bass from the high vantage point? I didn't know if a nice drone was part of your "pond supplies" since you have a son (or sons?).
It certainly frustrates me to take people fishing, and then have a very poor outing. I am pretty sure we presented lures to the fish - but the fish turned up their noses. I have little doubt that I would be a much improved fisherman if I could determine what I was doing wrong - especially on the days with no feedback from the darn fish!
FishingRod,
As far as I know these are the two largest LMB in the 3/4 acre pond. They seem to have territories and I have seen them chase away other LMB. One hangs out around a bridge structure and the other near a dam (two ponds separated by the dam of the upper pond). The dam has a retaining wall on the downstream side. It is bricked and its about 5 feet above the water. (That was my vantage point). The dam area has structures related pond aeration (by pumped fountain) and the dam area has cattails along its edge. Both locations are in some of the deepest water of the pond.
There used to be an old cartoon where a buzzard says to another, "Forget this! I am going to kill something!" That may be the basis of the story above. There is structure it probably uses for ambush cover but it was probably impatient or just felt like chasing something down. I have heard there are two types, one that roams and one that claims prime real estate. I do think these two fish have staked claims.
Hey I am with you on having a successful outing. Can't always happen but I can't help trying. There is a lot of fishing pressure on the bass in these two ponds and every year I notice two or three morts of ~16" LMB. I try to be very kind to LMB when I personally catch them which is usually on flies fishing for BG. Fishing for LMB is kind of tough with artificials but they really take BG well if they are small enough. My son fishes with BG and likes to catch the bigger fish (the largest are CC). We have a pond with stunted BG (no decent predator other than CC) and its a cinch to catch a dozen or two 2" to 3.5" BG for bait. I mean like 5 or 10 minutes cinch releasing 2/3 of them as too big ... LOL. Anyways, James fishes with them while I cull BG. He is conscientious and careful in landing and releasing fish and asks for help if he is having any trouble. The problem I have is just getting him out and away from his online friends with whom he games. Anyways, when we go I make him and for the past year he complains the whole way there but on the way home he never fails to thank me for taking him fishing. I really enjoy making these memories.
If a bass has to expend the energy of 50 attempts to catch a meal compared to a bass that only has to expend the energy of 3 attempts to catch a meal, then the latter bass could grow more quickly - even with less than optimal available forage.
Yes, I think this is true but I want to share something I have learned. We have all heard from Lusk, Eric and Dave that balance in a pond is knife edge. What I have learned is that once carrying capacity is achieved, the struggle seems to be to consume enough for maintenance. Swingle thought 2lbs per year was maximum growth. This seems to apply whether it is a 2" fingerling or a 6lb bass. After an LMB reaches an adult size it tends to consume a relatively small proportion above maintenance to achieve the maximum growth. IOWs Growth is VERY sensitive to even small increments of consumption above maintenance. For example, a standard weight 20" LMB can grow 2 lbs in a year simply by consuming 0.29% of its body weight in addition to the maintenance rate for 180 days (assuming the rest of the year it consumes only maintenance). Almost 90 percent of what it consumes is just to survive ... even when it is growing 2 lbs in year (from 4.71 to 6.71). STARVATION is the primary motivator I think. They work hard to survive and if they can get a small increment above maintenance they grow much more than one might suspect they would.
OTOH, the same applies inversely. IOWs when a fish consumes less than it needs for maintenance it declines more than one might expect it would. Even in the same pond, some may grow at the expense of decline in others. When fish are declining, mortality is higher and this is natures way of making room for the fittest survivors.
