DAVID P. DREVES AND TOM J. TIMMONS, Hancock Biological Station, Murray State University, P.O. Box 9, Murray, Kentucky 42071-0009, USA

We examined the growth of age-0 largemouth bass in Kentucky Lake in 1993 and determined the diet and its effects on growth. Largemouth bass were divided into two size classes based on the mean length for each sampling date. There was a pivotal period in mid-July when the overall growth rate of the cohort slowed. This was a result of the growth of small age-0 fish slowing dramatically, while the growth of the large fish continued at near the previous rate. During this period the larger bass were consuming more fish prey by weight than small bass and less insects and zooplankton. The variation in growth within the cohort resulted in a multi-modal length-frequency distribution by the end of the summer. We also examined the relationship between diet and reservoir level fluctuations. Kentucky Lake experienced unusual water level fluctuations in the summer of 1993 because of flooding on the Mississippi River. Feeding by age-0 largemouth bass on fish prey was positively related to reservoir elevation. Insects in the diet were inversely related to reservoir level. No relationship was found between reservoir level and zooplankton in the diet.