Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

here is one of my largemouth bass, he is 10" and about 2 years old i think,

[img][img]http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a63/meancoyote/100_2609.jpg[/img][/img]

cool

Had a read on these guy's the other day, considered a trophy fish in some areas.
Is it because they are a good fighting/sport fish or cause they taste good?

They are real predators, both a challange and sport to catch. They do taste good as well. There are some hugh $ contests to see who catches the largest and the biggest.

I have several in my set up and they mostly range from 10-12 inches. Had one float to the top the other day (looked perfectly healthy), weighed in at 9 1/2 oz (269 grams), I got them back in Oct. at about 2-3 inches at maybe an oz or so.

They love live bait. The 10 that I started with could go through 1000 minnows in just a few weeks (one time as little as 2 weeks). That got to expensive. I found that they like roaches as well as anything that flies to close to the water.

Check this site out to see the very best, least expensive, highest nutrition, live bait you can feed. The bass clear the water trying to make sure they get to it first.

http://lonestar.texas.net/~rtremper/roach.html

And YES, there has actually been considerable study as to the nutritional aspects of feeding these. They are by far the most complete and balanced diet, and on top of that they are cheap, easy to raise and you don't have to worry about them getting away into your house (no wings).

Full details available if anyone is interested.

It's the primary fish I go for, they put a decent fight (smallmouth are better fighters) Most guys including myself catch and release because it makes a better sport fish than an eating fish. There are profesional bass tournaments over here with enough prize money that some people acctually make a living fishing for bass(talk about a dream job!).

-Stevo

they are fast, i feed them goldfish. when i drop a goldfish in, it dont even hit the water before its gone.

This was the only fish I actively fished for in South Africa as they are in so many dams and they do put up a good fight The taste is not as good as barra, but the fillet is good and does taste nice

Nice fish... but a barra is better? ah, now I gotta try some of that!

How big will it get in a tank culture? Does it produce a growth inhibiting hormone?

i put them in the tank they were lees then 2" i think. now over 10" the tank is 1400 gallon.

Try using crickets or grasshoppers for bait. They are a real kick to catch on top water baits or lures!

Kevin