Age, Growth, Condition and Food Habits of Largemouth Bass Collected from a Louisiana Coastal Freshwater Marsh

A total of 710 largemouth bass was collected from a 4047 ha coastal freshwater marsh in Southwestern Louisiana. Seven age-groups (()-VII) were present in the marsh. Annual increments were smaller for the first 3 years of life when compared to other Louisiana areas, but greater during the remainder of life. Condition factors were comparable to those obtained by other Louisiana authors. Food habits of young of-the-year bass >95 mm in length were not different from age groups I and II. Fish and adult odonates were the principal forage for bass in the summer. During the winter, stomachs of bass from age groups ()II contained principally fish and freshwater shrimp whereas those from age groups ≥III contained predominantly fish.