06-09-2006, 02:53 AM
I have seen other articals about size and age factors.
true that the posibility of a trophy fish being one of age is quite valid in many cases.
however I have seen stunted fish older than counter parts at breading age where it larger of the same species is not old enough to reproduce yet.
this happens when food and cover is limited. if to many of one species survives the fry season then you can expect stunting to accure. fish are one of the most adaptable of animals to ajust size due to habitat or available food. the more fry survival equals less protozoans available for the next generation. fish dont start eating each other untill they are larger.
this is realy visible when doing bucket biology. "home pond management" if you take out the preditor or you fail to feed the fish you end up with runts. many small ponds will suport a pair of top preditors, pike, bass, catfish ect....
if you take one or both of those out then you mess up the ecosystem of the pond. It will take some time for the next pair to get large enough to do the work the older ones did provided they are not already stunted.
It is said in the reports under natural conditions that one in a thousand walleye becomes large enough to become table fare and one ten million walleye live to become trophy size.
there are a lot of factors involved but for the most part I agree with that statement. if you pull up a ten pound bass you are probably looking at its last year on average. if you pull in a twenty pound bass you can just about bet the farm on it not living another season.
I have seen only one thirty inch bass in my life, I can say I was able to hook in to him a couple times over 10 years. I watched him grow in a small farm pond about 40 feet wide and a hundred yards long over the years only to meet its end on the winter of 77-78 from a heavey winter freeze.
to see him go like that but I did at least get to measure him lenth wise. girth was about the same as a foot ball but I did not take that measurment. I did not know there was a formula for weight at that time in my fishing coreer.
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true that the posibility of a trophy fish being one of age is quite valid in many cases.
however I have seen stunted fish older than counter parts at breading age where it larger of the same species is not old enough to reproduce yet.
this happens when food and cover is limited. if to many of one species survives the fry season then you can expect stunting to accure. fish are one of the most adaptable of animals to ajust size due to habitat or available food. the more fry survival equals less protozoans available for the next generation. fish dont start eating each other untill they are larger.
this is realy visible when doing bucket biology. "home pond management" if you take out the preditor or you fail to feed the fish you end up with runts. many small ponds will suport a pair of top preditors, pike, bass, catfish ect....
if you take one or both of those out then you mess up the ecosystem of the pond. It will take some time for the next pair to get large enough to do the work the older ones did provided they are not already stunted.
It is said in the reports under natural conditions that one in a thousand walleye becomes large enough to become table fare and one ten million walleye live to become trophy size.
there are a lot of factors involved but for the most part I agree with that statement. if you pull up a ten pound bass you are probably looking at its last year on average. if you pull in a twenty pound bass you can just about bet the farm on it not living another season.
I have seen only one thirty inch bass in my life, I can say I was able to hook in to him a couple times over 10 years. I watched him grow in a small farm pond about 40 feet wide and a hundred yards long over the years only to meet its end on the winter of 77-78 from a heavey winter freeze.
to see him go like that but I did at least get to measure him lenth wise. girth was about the same as a foot ball but I did not take that measurment. I did not know there was a formula for weight at that time in my fishing coreer.[signature]