[quote=abolt300]Pretty fish Mike. What’d they weigh? Brandt’s looks like it’s about to bust with eggs. [/quote
I have some very accurate digital scales but unfortunately they were about 400 yards away and we were in a hurry to release the fish. Brant’s fish was definitely over ten and possibly bigger.
Yeah, I was figuring yours was 8.5 - 9 and Brandt's was between 10 and 11 or maybe even a shade more. Yours is relatively young with a lot of room left to grow and Brandt's fish is pretty old and probably about topped out. Both look to be in excellent shape and are great fish. I'm sure y'all had a blast. Congrats to both of you.
Man how you know all that lol. That’s pretty neat info.
It's kind of like being able to age a deer based on body characteristics. When a big female gets really old, they get bug eyed and the eyes protrude well beyond the fish's skull. When you see one like that, they arent going to get much bigger. Look at the fish that Brant caught and then look at the fish that Mike caught. Eyes on Brants are completely bugged out. That fish is old and while it may put on some additional weight from the shiners and shad it's eating in that lake where it was caught, it's frame isnt going to get much, if any, bigger. Eyes on Mike's are small and tight. That fish, already weighing 8-9lbs, in perfect health, is still relatively young and has tons of potential to get substantially bigger. I target these big bass every spring, just like Mike does the tarpon, and I handle a whole bunch of high single and double digit fish every year. I only fish on public water and every big bass I catch is released. Some have distinguishing marks and I fin clip some just to see how much they grow year to year. Big bass, in lakes, are like big deer, they will stake out a certain area, that has everything they need, and live there until they are caught and kept or die from old age. They may move some with the bait and time of year, but they will be in the same general area, doing the same thing, at the same time each year.