Growing Huge Largemouth, possible risks?

[JeBassMaster]

Hey everyone, pictured here is my pond that I have in my backyard and will be attempting to grow some truly massive largemouth bass in. Hopefully will be getting my hands on the best possible bass I can so I am not worried about a supplier. Pond currently houses a bunch of bluegill, a goldfish, and a handful of threadfin shad; all bait for the bass.

My question is this: I need to maximize the growth I get out of my fish in the first year because it is when bass grow the absolute most in length. Most bass in good systems with the right genes can grow to 13-15 inches in the first year. I am not trying to grow most bass, I am trying to grow the world record of over 22 lbs. With that being said, I have plans in place to feed the heck out of these fish to do so to hopefully have them pushing 20 inches or more by the end of their first year. My concern is I will severely shorten the lifespan in doing so. I don't know how that works but I have seen that fast growth means a shorter lifespan... Can anyone explain and maybe help me understand at what rate I should grow my fish to not shorten their lifespan? Another facet of this is having the fish live long enough to make it to record size, so I don't want to shoot myself in the foot in the first year. The bass will experience normal winters where their heartbeats will slow and metabolism too, which will help them live longer, but I still want to be careful. Any pointers from anyone?

 

[Chub_by]

The effect of rapid growth in aquacultured fish on their lifespan hasn't been extensively studied for obvious reasons, but high class koi for example are kept at high temperatures and power fed to induce extreme growth, some reaching 2' after 2 years and will still live for several decades
What I would be much more concerned about is how you will keep up the water quality if you're putting so much food into the fish.

 

[JeBassMaster]

The effect of rapid growth in aquacultured fish on their lifespan hasn't been extensively studied for obvious reasons, but high class koi for example are kept at high temperatures and power fed to induce extreme growth, some reaching 2' after 2 years and will still live for several decades
What I would be much more concerned about is how you will keep up the water quality if you're putting so much food into the fish.

Gotcha, the pond looks a little green in this picture due to an algae bloom, but it is now very clear. I have some pretty massive filtration including a skimmer, a box filter rated for 3500 gallons with a UV clarifier, a wetlands bog filter, and plenty of aquatic plants. The bluegill and tilapia in the pond are quite healthy despite daily feedings, and obviously I don't do water changes because my pond is huge. It maintains itself very well as a balanced ecosystem, so I think personally water quality is not going to be a concern for me. The bass will ideally be pretty quickly trained and easy to supplementally feed/powerfeed, but the point of the other fish is to maintain a natural ecosystem where they can also hunt and maintain themselves.

 

[Chub_by]

It should definitely be able to handle quite a decent bioload, but keep in mind bass are very greedy fish and their food is extremely high in protein. I'd still monitor for water quality regularly.

Also, if you are serious about growing a fish to above average size, you're best off getting a large batch of fingerlings and starting them off in a smaller setup, then culling out the smallest fish and upsizing the enclosure of the rest as you go