VIDEO: Mommy bass bites more than she can swallow

Two local anglers managed to save a fish struggling on the surface of the dam after it tried to swallow too large a meal.

June 19, 2017

Benno Stander Less than a minute

Local anglers Michael Cronje of Angling & Outdoor World and Danie Stassen visited De Hoop Dam in Limpopo this past weekend when they noticed a large-mouth bass on the surface of the water close to their boat.

bass eats huge kurper — According to Michael, “The bass of 2.23kg tried to make a meal of a kurper approximately 30cm big. It was struggling to swallow the kurper which got stuck and fortunately we idled past, scooped the bass up in a landing net and managed to remove the kurper from its throat, revive the bass and release it successfully. Unfortunately the Kurper was already dead.”

Michael added that the bass was full of eggs and was probably over-compensating somewhat when she tried to feed on the kurper in a n attempt to bulk up before spawning, which would probably take place in a month or so.

Large-mouth bass lay between 2 000 and 26 000 eggs in each nest depending on water temperature and other factors. Thanks to Michael and Danie this mommy-to-be will have a chance at reproducing this year.