Very few bass and likely all fish species live long enough to even reach the 10 lb status which often takes 7-10 yrs or longer. Many of the older larger individuals are harvested by anglers. Old bass are not always big bass. Sometimes a 13 yr old bass can weigh less than 3 pounds. One if not both of the bass pictured above were probably harvested, thus they will never make the 10 lb mark.
A trophy bound fish needs ample food and the correct general sizes of food every day and have the right genes for best growth. Those needed foods change as the fish grows and ages. Truth be fully known the optimum nutrition needs may even change as that fish ages from fry to middle age, to "old timer". Availability of ample proper foods does not always happen. Often the food supply does not match the needs of the trophy bound fish or number of fish living in that habitat, thus there can be numerous "hiccups" in the growth of that trophy bound fish.
Both of the bass I landed in those pics were released back into the pond. I wouldn't find them good eating at that weight, and anything that large deserves to swim free another day. If I landed a personal trophy for myself I would photograph every angle, record some measurements, and release the fish. Then have a replica made. And in my pond it is catch and release all bass at this stage. So they just keep eating and growing.
Both of those bass in the pictures were landed on 3-inch minnows. In fact in one day I landed 13 bass for 34lbs all on those little 3-inch minnows.
I sometimes wonder how accurate any studies are, beyond the controlled environment or group they're studying. So many variables at play that attempting to apply the results or findings in one study to another environment may be wrong.
If we look at humans, especially in Western Society, just look at how large humans have become. The percentage of overweight or obese people in the USA alone in 1960 versus 2015. The growth in overweight and obese people is staggering. Sometimes I look at toads (bass) like people - if the bass just sits around and eats and eats and eats without much exercise, it is gonna put on the weight. And if you feed that bass food that increases growth to a point, and then just feed it to fatten it once body growth has reached its capacity, that weight gain just continues around its midsection (like humans).
I've fished some ponds in Georgia wherein 3 year old bass are already 7-8lbs. So even if the weight gain slows, some of these should make double digits well ahead of 7 or 10 years. Food, food, food. And no exercise. Like an oscar I had in college. We fed, fed, fed, that Albino oscar and it just grew, grew, and grew.
Anyways, end of day it's all tied to a bunch of variables that outside of our control.
