Fish Growth

[Buck762]

how fast do fish grow? I know that down south the fish grow fater due to warmer climates.  I was told that fish, especiallly walleye grow pretty slow.  Any knowledge on the subject?

[scavengerj]

A lot of biological and enviromental factors come in to play when determining fish growth rates. There are average growth rates for most fish but, again, due to the aforementioned variables nothing is etched in concrete.

[pooley]

the farther north you go, the shorter the growing season. just like plants.

[scavengerj]

Here is shortened write up on walleye....
 How fast walleyes grow depends on the availability of food and the length of the growing season. In southern reservoirs, where shad are super-abundant and the growing season is 8 to 9 months long, walleyes can reach weights exceeding 15 pounds in only 7 years. But in the deep, cold, wonderful lakes of the Canadian Shield, where baitfish are less abundant and the growing season lasts only 3 to 4 months, a walleye reaches a weight of just 2 pounds in the same amount of time.

   Despite this great difference in growth rate, walleyes in northern waters can reach sizes rivaling those in the south. This phenomenon can be explained by a factor that could be called warmwater burnout. Fish in cold northern water grow more slowly, but have a much longer life span than fish in warmer southern waters. Walleyes in the North have been known to live as long as 26 years, although walleyes older than 15 years of age are rare; in the South, a life span of 10 years would be uncommon. So even though walleyes in the North do not grow as fast, their longevity results in an average size not much smaller than that in the South.

   There is evidence to support the theory that a fast growing strain of walleyes exists in rivers and reservoirs in the south-eastern United States. Apparently, this strain spawns exclusively in rivers. When dams were built to create the reservoirs, long stretches of river habitat were lost. In most cases, the walleyes eventually disappeared from the reservoirs.

   Many of these reservoirs were then stocked with northern-strain walleyes. This strain can spawn in rivers or lakes, but evidentally does not grow as fast as the southern strain. In Center Hill Reservoir, Tennessee, souther-strain walleyes sampled in 1964 averaged 30.6 inches (about 10 1/2 pounds) at age seven. They eventually disappeared from the reservoir, so it was stocked with northern-strain walleyes. When the northern fish were sampled in 1976, they averaged only 23.3 inches (about 4 1/2 pounds) at the age of seven.

   Female walleyes grow much faster, live longer and attain much larger sizes than males. In most waters, male walleyes exceeding 4 pounds are unusual.

Some additional links....

http://digital.library.okstate.edu/oas/oas_pdf/v58/p6_10.pdf
http://www.ncrac.org/NR/rdonlyres/0D226643-252E-4674-AE58-C23D13D01588/0/sunfishreport6.pdf

[miket.]

there are a lot of factors in considering this topic.area of particular fish very also but in general i think a few things to think about when determining fish growth are as follows. fish populations, structure, forage,size of body of water,food supply,shelter,and structure. depending on area, all these factors come into play.it really i s a tough   topic to cover because of the many differant factors. i would like to think in general that a fish with all the proper needs to the species grow about any where from 5 to 8 inches in length or maybe a pound for every year.

[scavengerj]

The average growth rate of the Black Crappie is ¼ to ½ pound per growing season with mature sizes in the two to three pound range.  The Black Crappie’s life span usually ranges 2-3 years; however seven or more years is not uncommon.

[abishop]

Thanks for that report, very interesting.

[jimmyclaude]

I'll have to look it up but we had (oldest on record?) a bass that was tagged decades ago.

[rileyross]

how fast do fish grow? I know that down south the fish grow fater due to warmer climates.  I was told that fish, especiallly walleye grow pretty slow.  Any knowledge on the subject?

We need some fish growth on my uncles lake, lol

[Walltrout]

In Montana they say a perch will grow to an average size of 8 inches by its fourth year.  By comparison I have a tiger oscar that is only about 8 months old and it is about 9 inches long. 

So the answer to your question will depend on a lot a variables like species, water temp, forage, ect.