Largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides, Lac. fingerlings were successfully grown in cylindrical cages made of a synthetic netting fabric. Diet was Oregon Moist Pellet or floating trout pellets fed ad lib. Feed conversions ranged from 1.31 to 5.19 for 16 cage replications included in four trials. One trial was in the fall months when water temperature averaged 14. 7°C. Another was during the fall and winter (144 days) when average water temperature was 12.8°C. The other two were done in the slimmer at an average water temperature of about 27°C. Survival was 83.7 percent or higher for all lots except two where side effects from a disease treatment caused mortality. Response of the test animals to the cage environment was comparable with what had been observed in rearing this size bass on artificial feed in small earthen ponds. Cage design was satisfactory and the method shows promise for specialized use in bass culture.
