Went down to my 8 acre pond in southern Illinois and saw a handful of 1-3 inch largemouth bass today. I was surprised to see such small fish this late in the year. Are these struggling fry that aren’t growing well (I figured if that was the case they would just get eaten,) or really late spawn in my pond. Either way I find it odd because Bass usually spawn in April/May around here.

I think things tend to follow a similar pattern every year but one thing that is also possible is a monster hatch creating tons of competition in turn resulting in slower growth. Just a thought.