What can cause Big Bass to be thin??

Capt. BassinLou · August 19, 2017, 07:10:28 AM

Quote from: rchiuz on August 19, 2017, 07:06:58 AM

22.25 in
4lb weight
Popping frog near some pads

I knew it was a decent one from the massive explosion and I could see the tail waving in the air

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great job Roberto!! Too bad the heat stress is making that fish thin, under better conditions she would have been a fatty!!

Capt. BassinLou · August 19, 2017, 09:49:00 AM

Quote from: rchiuz on August 19, 2017, 09:46:48 AM
Thanks! Yup, I thought she was thin for the length. Well, Fall is around the corner so maybe the temps drop a little

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I REALLY can't wait for our conditions to change cuz this summer has been brutal for me and bass fishing... lol

BarryFL · August 19, 2017, 12:51:30 PM

Very nice, Roberto! That fish should weigh almost 6lbs.

I know this will upset some folks, but that fish is starving. I assume you caught it in a pond where no one ever keeps fish. I also saw it with some fish Cport posted recently. I would encourage folks to keep some fish between 12-15 inches every few trips.

SFL BassHunter · August 19, 2017, 01:21:15 PM

Quote from: TR21PDCTampa on August 19, 2017, 12:51:30 PM
Very nice, Roberto! That fish should weigh almost 6lbs.

I know this will upset some folks, but that fish is starving. I assume you caught it in a pond where no one ever keeps fish. I also saw it with some fish Cport posted recently. I would encourage folks to keep some fish between 12-15 inches every few trips.

The pond on one side of the lake has regulations that state catch and release only for largemouth bass. On the other side it has a very old sign that has different regulations for bass. Online there is a also a pdf that states that bass are catch and release only. Though it's old as well. The FWC site doesn't seem to have any special regulations for bass out of that pond anymore, they are now in line with the rest of the states bag limit. The pond is an FWC Fish Management Area. They have feeders and they stock the lake with certain types of fish. There certainly is no shortage of cichlids, or bait for the bass to feed on.

Between Mayan Cichlids, Tilapia, bluegill, sunfish and catfish, I don't think they are going hungry because a lack of baitfish.

BarryFL · August 19, 2017, 01:27:38 PM

Quote from: rickdelprado on August 19, 2017, 01:21:15 PM
The pond on one side of the lake has regulations that state catch and release only for largemouth bass. On the other side it has a very old sign that has different regulations for bass. Online there is a also a pdf that states that bass are catch and release only. Though it's old as well. The FWC site doesn't seem to have any special regulations for bass out of that pond anymore, they are now in line with the rest of the states bag limit. The pond is an FWC Fish Management Area. They have feeders and they stock the lake with certain types of fish. There certainly is no shortage of cichlids, or bait for the bass to feed on.

Between Mayan Cichlids, Tilapia, bluegill, sunfish and catfish, I don't think they are going hungry because a lack of baitfish.

I hear ya, Rick but FL bass are acclimated to the heat. It isn't the heat. There is too much competition for food, IMO. That or the fish has an old plastic bait stuck in its stomach. Look online and see the effects of people discarding plastics in the water.

I'm not faulting Roberto or anyone, it is what it is, but healthy fish don't have descended bellies like that.

SFL BassHunter · August 19, 2017, 01:37:26 PM

Quote from: TR21PDCTampa on August 19, 2017, 01:27:38 PM
I hear ya, Rick but FL bass are acclimated to the heat. It isn't the heat. There is too much competition for food, IMO. That or the fish has an old plastic bait stuck in its stomach. Look online and see the effects of people discarding plastics in the water.

I'm not faulting Roberto or anyone, it is what it is, but healthy fish don't have descended bellies like that.

I completely agree that fish is far too skinny. It is very possible that it has plastic baits sitting in it's stomach.
The only other thing I can think of is like you mentioned competition for food. The ciclids in there are pretty big and there are a lot of them, and it would take a LARGE bass to feed on them. I don't think there are that many bass in there that are big enough to feed on those larger cichlids. It is a possibility that those larger cichlids are also competing against the bass for smaller forage.

Capt. BassinLou · August 19, 2017, 01:48:19 PM

rchiuz · August 19, 2017, 05:07:32 PM

Probably something specific to that lake. All the previous fish I caught at Amelia were very chunky. Would be interesting to find out why

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

big g · August 19, 2017, 06:47:14 PM

Plastics will swell in the fish's stomach to double or triple its size. That could be the problem.

SteveTX · August 19, 2017, 08:25:28 PM

I've caught some like that out of a pond and it was freaky. Huge heads and the body was nearly nothing. This pond had several in it like that and it is not fished publicly, its on private land away from any public roads. My only guess was lack of food. Some of the fish we caught there were 3 to 4 lbs and healthy as could be. Based on that I am going to say he is a poor hunter and we all know what nature does.

Deadeye · August 21, 2017, 07:56:09 AM

Usually when there is a competition for food there is a bunch of stunted growth fish in the smaller range. If that is the norm you are catching from that water (8-14") then there is a real possibility that Barry is correct.

There are other factors to consider as well. Was this a fish without good genetics that outgrew it's potential? Are there other fish that look similar in nature or was this one an abnormality? Could it have been an older fish that was on the downswing of it's life span?

No way to really know for sure unless some real research is done.

coldfront · August 21, 2017, 08:07:11 AM

Quote from: rickdelprado on August 19, 2017, 01:21:15 PM
The pond on one side of the lake has regulations that state catch and release only for largemouth bass. On the other side it has a very old sign that has different regulations for bass. Online there is a also a pdf that states that bass are catch and release only. Though it's old as well. The FWC site doesn't seem to have any special regulations for bass out of that pond anymore, they are now in line with the rest of the states bag limit. The pond is an FWC Fish Management Area. They have feeders and they stock the lake with certain types of fish. There certainly is no shortage of cichlids, or bait for the bass to feed on.

Between Mayan Cichlids, Tilapia, bluegill, sunfish and catfish, I don't think they are going hungry because a lack of baitfish.

poikilotherms (can't regulate their own body temps) are at the mercy of water, air temps. In this case, metabiolic systems are enzymatically driven...and higher temps drive rates higher.

hard for those fish to eat enough to stay fat and happy.

compare/contrast those florida strain in California lakes with 60 - 70 degree water.

very different body shapes...they get to 'keep' their calories way better.

SFL BassHunter · August 21, 2017, 09:02:26 AM

Quote from: Deadeye on August 21, 2017, 07:56:09 AM
Usually when there is a competition for food there is a bunch of stunted growth fish in the smaller range. If that is the norm you are catching from that water (8-14") then there is a real possibility that Barry is correct.

There are other factors to consider as well. Was this a fish without good genetics that outgrew it's potential? Are there other fish that look similar in nature or was this one an abnormality? Could it have been an older fish that was on the downswing of it's life span?

No way to really know for sure unless some real research is done.

Not all fish in that pond look like that. I've caught some chunky fish out of there, and I've caught some extremely skinny ones.
In fact I caught fatties out of there before this extreme heat hit us.

rchiuz · August 21, 2017, 10:14:18 AM

I submitted a question to FWC about the skinny bass and below is the response I got:

Thank you for your concern for our wildlife and our natural resources, and I hope that you have enjoyed fishing at Tropical Fish Management Area! FWC does monitor the fish population in the lake -- especially the bass population. Bass numbers were down slightly from the last couple years but still good, and condition (weight) of the bass was normal from what we sampled. Are many of the bass you catch at Tropical skinny, or just this individual? Keep in mind that we are now well post-spawn, and bass often look very lean after spawning. I work with our TrophyCatch citizen-science program, and a number of the bass that have been submitted to the program since the end of the spawn have looked lean, with many comments on our Facebook page that it's due to being post-spawn. Also, I will note that having seen a lot of bass in my day this one is not nearly as skinny as many others I have seen. The classic "skinny bass" has a head very large in proportion to the body, and a concave belly, which aren't evident here.

However, to answer your question, a reduction in forage would be the most likely cause if most of the bass in a population appear skinny and it's not in the post-spawn period. Sunfish numbers in the lake did decline this year compared to last year, something that has happened in the past, and we will continue to monitor the situation and to see if this represents a trend. Many populations go through regular predator-prey cycles where forage numbers increase and decrease, and predator populations often respond showing the same trend a year or two behind.

Please do continue to let us know and send photos of any skinny bass you catch in the lake. One thing I'll mention is that historically Tropical has had the best bass population of any of our South Region FMAs, also contributing the largest bass I have actually collected in one of our FMAs at 9.8 pounds.

Regards,

John Cimbaro
Biological Scientist III
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
561-882-5721

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

rchiuz · August 21, 2017, 10:17:57 AM

It was a very interesting response. The one thing that still out for me, he has sampled a 9.8lb fish from there. So there
Might be hope for that 10lb one day

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Lipripper · August 21, 2017, 10:25:41 AM

Quote from: rchiuz on August 21, 2017, 10:17:57 AM
It was a very interesting response. The one thing that still out for me, he has sampled a 9.8lb fish from there. So there
Might be hope for that 10lb one day

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

All right and it was nice of them to answer you back with a good response and if nobody takes it out you could catch a 10 lber out of there.

SteveTX · August 21, 2017, 10:51:54 AM

Quote from: rchiuz on August 21, 2017, 10:17:57 AM
It was a very interesting response. The one thing that still out for me, he has sampled a 9.8lb fish from there. So there
Might be hope for that 10lb one day

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oh he was just throwing you a bone. Keeping you fishing.

Seriously though that is nice of them to answer you like that and hint that their is at least one very nice one maybe in there.

SFL BassHunter · August 21, 2017, 11:47:30 AM

That's really interesting! It's nice they responded. A 9.8lber gives me hope that there can be some nice fish caught in there. Maybe it or one of its sisters was the one that snapped my line on that frog hookset...

Deadeye · August 22, 2017, 05:18:21 AM

Very cool reply.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

SFL BassHunter · August 22, 2017, 08:50:27 AM

I wonder what the average size is for bass in there.

rchiuz · August 22, 2017, 10:26:23 AM

Quote from: rickdelprado on August 21, 2017, 11:47:30 AM
That's really interesting! It's nice they responded. A 9.8lber gives me hope that there can be some nice fish caught in there. Maybe it or one of its sisters was the one that snapped my line on that frog hookset...

The last one I caught, I was wondering if I would find your make shift frog lol

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

SFL BassHunter · August 22, 2017, 11:44:15 AM

Quote from: rchiuz on August 22, 2017, 10:26:23 AM
The last one I caught, I was wondering if I would find your make shift frog lol

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

lol

ccr425 · August 27, 2017, 10:40:32 AM

Up here, Lake Jackson has this same "problem". Yesterday evening I caught one with a 10 pounders head on a 4 pounders body. When I removed the hook I swear I could hear her jaw cracking. I was really careful with her and got her back in the water to hopefully start eating again...... Seems like the shallow lakes around here have these skinny fish vs. Ochlockonee River/Lake Talquin. I've landed quite a few bass with monster frames that were still in the single digit weight category. All from shallow water bodies. Not sure about what y'all are fishing in down south.