How large can a largemouth bass go

[Bonefish]

I am sure you have heard the quote… “If you want to catch a large bass use a large lure.” On some days and situations that may be true, but on other days that might not be the case. Largemouth bass are not called “bucketmouth” for no reason. I am sure you have seen them catch a lot of different prey through the years such as birds, snakes, mice, turtles and lizards. Studies have shown a largemouth bass can eat a shad or trout up to half their own length which has a thin body with soft fins. Most of time a largemouth bass will be more selective when approaching a wide-body, sticky prey. A couple of years ago I saw a six pound largemouth bass struggling on top of the water at Cedar Creek Lake. When I approached the fish, I could see it had a ten inch crappie stuck in it’s mouth. After taking the crappie out of it's mouth, the bass swam away. Largemouth bass at times will try to eat prey to large to pass through their gullet and die. However, It has been estimated that a six inch bluegill is fair game for a keeper-sized bass, and a twenty four inch bass could eat a foot long trout or a lure of that size. Then again, large largemouth bass have been known to eat microscopic water fleas when other prey is scarce.

So, my next question is… “Why is it then ever so often you catch a 3 inch bass on a 6 inch lure?” Maybe it just a hormone thing… just too much energy and they just want to attack something for the fun of it. How many times have you caught a bass to find out it is spitting out shad, but it still nailed your lure? Or, maybe it is like your mother told you so many times when you sat down at the dinner table and took out more than your stomach could hold… “Your eyes were bigger than your stomach.” I think when it comes to lure selection, it depends upon the fish’s hunger level, opportunity, and prey availability as to size. Sometimes largemouth bass select prey small, sometimes large. That is why we must be able to adjust to a fish’s feeding habits for any given day or situation, and even then, most often we are surprised at what they want. It is this puzzle that keeps us coming back to the water.

[IronWorker]

A lot of folks will say if you want to catch a big bass you need to use a large sized bait. There is some truth in this but a better analogy would be if you dont want to catch a small bass you need to use a large sized bait.
Im always curious about the the numbers ratio of 2 lb bass vs. that of 12 lb bass.
You would be surprised to know the numbers of 10 lb bass that are missed simply because they are outnumbered by the 2 lb bass. Most of the time the smaller fish run in and grab the bait asap with the results being the larger fish never see the bait much less do they have the opportunity to strike the bait. If a person will throw a over size bait they will eventually catch a trophy fish. They might throw a home poured 24 inch plastic worm all night long for 20 nights straight and not catch a thing (other than a big flathead) but when they do catch a bass it will be a 10 lb + size fish.

[byrdland]

The Texas State Record Bass (for a time and may be still) was around 18 and 1/2 pounds caught on a crappie minnow in 40 feet of water in the winter. A bass will grow until it dies, if it has adequate forage and habitat.

[Bassky]

I have caught 10" bass on 12" worms. I have caught 4" bass on 6" worms and large series 128 jerkbaits. In summer I use the biggest worms and baits I have to get the bigger fish. This works best for me.

[spinnerbaitguy]

In my opinion, here is the answer- but I have to tell a short story to expound on the bigger point.
My daughter had 5 dogs. Out of those, the biggest and the smallest were a brindle Great Dane and a Jack Russell mix. The Jack mix would attack any of the other larger dogs, would drag them around by the lip and generally exhibited alpha tendencies. The Dane, which was well over 6 ft. "tall" on her hind legs, would climb onto the couch and flop down into your lap. She was a huge dog. The Jack mix saw herself as big as the other dogs. The Dane saw herself as small as the other dogs.
The answer- neither dog was able to "see" themselves in relation to their size. They were just being dogs.
Side note- contrary to current schools of thought and emotionally manipulating commercials, there is a difference between people and animals.