Northwest Fishing Reports

GROWTH RATE = GR

CALI: GR = 1.0lbs / yr
PNW: GR = 0.5 lbs / yr

Therefore we can assume the following:
AGE = CALI 10 lbs = PNW 5 lbs


that being said, there are way too many 5s being caught to even consider a 5 lbs largemouth to be cali equivalent. maybe a 6 would fly, but i say 7.

what do you think?



tia

that is all...

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Maybe a true 6 lb. fish. Most of these pictures that you see around here are not even close to what the fish actually weighs. If I had a nickel for everybody that says they caught a 5lb or bigger largemouth, and it was actually probably under 5 I would be a rich man. A ten pound fish in Cali, doesn't even turn a head for the most part. It is a big fish with out a doubt, but when you get used to seeing 35-40 lb 5 fish limits in tournaments down there, you run into a lot of 10lb bass. I know few of the guys down there from other bass forums that are true trophy hunters and they don't even get excited about a ten! Can you believe that! I would be happy with a 5lb bass any day of the week and twice on tournament day!

WCCT wrote:Maybe a true 6 lb. fish. Most of these pictures that you see around here are not even close to what the fish actually weighs. If I had a nickel for everybody that says they caught a 5lb or bigger largemouth, and it was actually probably under 5 I would be a rich man. A ten pound fish in Cali, doesn't even turn a head for the most part. It is a big fish with out a doubt, but when you get used to seeing 35-40 lb 5 fish limits in tournaments down there, you run into a lot of 10lb bass. I know few of the guys down there from other bass forums that are true trophy hunters and they don't even get excited about a ten! Can you believe that! I would be happy with a 5lb bass any day of the week and twice on tournament day!

Good read!!!

BB

WCCT wrote:Maybe a true 6 lb. fish. Most of these pictures that you see around here are not even close to what the fish actually weighs. If I had a nickel for everybody that says they caught a 5lb or bigger largemouth, and it was actually probably under 5 I would be a rich man. A ten pound fish in Cali, doesn't even turn a head for the most part. It is a big fish with out a doubt, but when you get used to seeing 35-40 lb 5 fish limits in tournaments down there, you run into a lot of 10lb bass. I know few of the guys down there from other bass forums that are true trophy hunters and they don't even get excited about a ten! Can you believe that! I would be happy with a 5lb bass any day of the week and twice on tournament day!

thank you, that was a very helpful.

for the most part tens has been the benchmark for the longest time. nowadays its a totally different ball game, and a different story. those targeting larger fish have moved onto targeting teens. so i can see why another ten is just another day. to put in pnw terms, its the same how fives are just another fish.



precisely the type of response i was looking to get. we thought we were the only ones seeing small fish being posted as larger weights - good to see you feel the same way.

T Dot wrote:

WCCT wrote:Maybe a true 6 lb. fish. Most of these pictures that you see around here are not even close to what the fish actually weighs. If I had a nickel for everybody that says they caught a 5lb or bigger largemouth, and it was actually probably under 5 I would be a rich man. A ten pound fish in Cali, doesn't even turn a head for the most part. It is a big fish with out a doubt, but when you get used to seeing 35-40 lb 5 fish limits in tournaments down there, you run into a lot of 10lb bass. I know few of the guys down there from other bass forums that are true trophy hunters and they don't even get excited about a ten! Can you believe that! I would be happy with a 5lb bass any day of the week and twice on tournament day!

thank you, that was a very helpful.

for the most part tens has been the benchmark for the longest time. nowadays its a totally different ball game, and a different story. those targeting larger fish have moved onto targeting teens. so i can see why another ten is just another day. to put in pnw terms, its the same how fives are just another fish.



precisely the type of response i was looking to get. we thought we were the only ones seeing small fish being posted as larger weights - good to see you feel the same way.

Amen. I've had these same thoughts. But came to this realization......this is a place for learning and sharing. So some people embellish there fish, that's ok. It builds confidence. The more experienced anglers don't need to do this. It is just a stage in the development of a true angler. (plus, they are easy to spot!!). As the bass go, yeah to me it seems like 5 is the norm(low end of trophy size), and hitting 7-8 is where it is at hear in the PNW (and similar latitudes across the US, midwest, northeast, ect.).......

IF I caught something in the teens I would need a happy sock because it would get messy. Very informative post though. I plan on hitting my cousins bass pond in GA next year and yanking out some of the big boys he has in there. It does suck that the growing season here is so short. Is anyone else hoping global warming kicks in

Leftfield question

With slower growth rates,is it possible for pnw bass to have a longer life span than Cali or southern bass?

its hard to compare a WA 5lb against a CA 10lbr since they arent even the same strain

northern strain bass wont even grow the same rate as a florida strain bass in the same lake with the same forage in CA!!!

Most average WA bassers arent catching 5lbrs. I doubt average Ca basser are catching 10lbrs regularly. Plus when it comes down to it. A 5lb bass is a 5lbs bass...and a 10lb bass is a 10lb bass. I highly doubt anyone is up here catching 5lbrs and comparing it to a cali 10lb.

Kevin -
You are correct the slower growing bass of this area are likely to live longer. Here in Washington there are bass that are teenagers! However I'm not sure folks realize how slow are fish grow, especially early in their lifes.

On the typical Washington water it takes 5 years for a largemouth bass to reach 12 inches or about 1#. On some waters your might find fish that make that 12 inch size in as little as 3 or 4 years however on others in may take 7 or more years. A couple of the oldest bass I have seen (ages in the mid-teens) were less than 4#. Most of our large bass are likley 10 to 12 years old a such fish with a "decent" growth rate would be at least 5#s. One 10+ Washington fish was entering its 13th year when it was caught in the spring.

While I no longer devote a lot of time to bass fishing when I did so I considered the threshold for monster fish was one which I would only expect to catch only a handful in say a decade of fishing. For me that was largemouth over 7#s and smallies over 6. Though I suppose one could make that arguement that here in Washington that LMBs that are in the solid 6s and smallies that are in the solid 5s are caught about as frequently as 10s in California.

Tight lines
Curt

Basstradamus wrote:its hard to compare a WA 5lb against a CA 10lbr since they arent even the same strain

northern strain bass wont even grow the same rate as a florida strain bass in the same lake with the same forage in CA!!!

Most average WA bassers arent catching 5lbrs. I doubt average Ca basser are catching 10lbrs regularly. Plus when it comes down to it. A 5lb bass is a 5lbs bass...and a 10lb bass is a 10lb bass. I highly doubt anyone is up here catching 5lbrs and comparing it to a cali 10lb.

I talked to a WDFW guy about Florida Strain bass not too long ago. He said regardless of strain, the bass grow at the same rate here because of the short growing seasons. I guess they experimented with Florida strain a few years back near or in the Columbia, and they didnt do so well, and the growth rate was almost the same as Northern strain. Im assuming if we had bait fish(not bluegills, crappie, perch, yadda yadda) we could have a better growth rate, meaning shad and what nots. Yes i know there is some bait fish other than gamefish, but we all know most lakes here dont.

SONNN wrote:

Basstradamus wrote:its hard to compare a WA 5lb against a CA 10lbr since they arent even the same strain

northern strain bass wont even grow the same rate as a florida strain bass in the same lake with the same forage in CA!!!

Most average WA bassers arent catching 5lbrs. I doubt average Ca basser are catching 10lbrs regularly. Plus when it comes down to it. A 5lb bass is a 5lbs bass...and a 10lb bass is a 10lb bass. I highly doubt anyone is up here catching 5lbrs and comparing it to a cali 10lb.

I talked to a WDFW guy about Florida Strain bass not too long ago. He said regardless of strain, the bass grow at the same rate here because of the short growing seasons. I guess they experimented with Florida strain a few years back near or in the Columbia, and they didnt do so well, and the growth rate was almost the same as Northern strain. Im assuming if we had bait fish(not bluegills, crappie, perch, yadda yadda) we could have a better growth rate, meaning shad and what nots. Yes i know there is some bait fish other than gamefish, but we all know most lakes here dont.

ya youve told me that 2 times before and is true in WA, but im talking bout bass growing in california Before the 80's CA only had northern strain bass. They never got close to being as big as florida strain bass in CA. Also didnt have the same growth rate or potential to grow like flrida strain bass does...

Only reason i know this, is cus one of the Bass books i;ve read explains Largemouth bass history in CA and the differences in strains,growth of bass in CA...

So thats why im saying its hard to compare a 5lb northern strain bass in WA to a 10lb florida strain bass in CA.

HAHAHA, I only have 10/20 memeory now. I know i told you, but figured others might not know

Smalma wrote:Kevin -
You are correct the slower growing bass of this area are likely to live longer. Here in Washington there are bass that are teenagers! However I'm not sure folks realize how slow are fish grow, especially early in their lifes.

On the typical Washington water it takes 5 years for a largemouth bass to reach 12 inches or about 1#. On some waters your might find fish that make that 12 inch size in as little as 3 or 4 years however on others in may take 7 or more years. A couple of the oldest bass I have seen (ages in the mid-teens) were less than 4#. Most of our large bass are likley 10 to 12 years old a such fish with a "decent" growth rate would be at least 5#s. One 10+ Washington fish was entering its 13th year when it was caught in the spring.

While I no longer devote a lot of time to bass fishing when I did so I considered the threshold for monster fish was one which I would only expect to catch only a handful in say a decade of fishing. For me that was largemouth over 7#s and smallies over 6. Though I suppose one could make that arguement that here in Washington that LMBs that are in the solid 6s and smallies that are in the solid 5s are caught about as frequently as 10s in California.

Tight lines
Curt

Great info Curt,..I appreciate it very much.

More reason to encourage c&r

i'm not much of a bass guy but i would reckon that the fish would grow faster if there was some sort of main bait fish in our waters alot of the lakes in the south have shad and other types of "bait"fish to feed on year round. where as up here our big bass really only get one good feeding of stocked trout per year. could this be one the reasons our fish grow slower? again i'm not a basspro of any sorts so its just my opinion.

christopherbeebe wrote:i'm not much of a bass guy but i would reckon that the fish would grow faster if there was some sort of main bait fish in our waters alot of the lakes in the south have shad and other types of "bait"fish to feed on year round. where as up here our big bass really only get one good feeding of stocked trout per year. could this be one the reasons our fish grow slower? again i'm not a basspro of any sorts so its just my opinion.

i think we got plenty of feed myself.. sure they got shad but its not like we dont have small baitfish in the NW.

Perch, smelt, panfish (bluegill/pumpkinseed/crappie), stocked trout, stickebacks, baby bass, sculpins, etc etc etc I think its really the growing season more than anything.