Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations % of RW for LMB growth

What is the lowest % of RW necessary for LMB growth? I know they grow better at higher RW.

Brett how do I word this, ewest help me out. A low Wr say below 70% kinda means they grew to that length then lost weight, make sense? sorry out of time and wanted to try to answer the wording did nto come to me. Not easy to explain someone help me out will read about it tommorrow.

To paraphrase Greg, LMB can grow with RW below 100% - say down to 80% (?). I know they will grow in the 90's; that's where most of mine are. But for a certain RW (70 or less), a bass cannot have grown that long being that skinny. The bass had to have been heavier (higher RW) to have reached that length, and then lost weight.

Hopefully that's understandable. Maybe we still need ewest.

I understand what you guys are saying but not sure what the question is looking for.

The RW concept is an indicator (measuring device) of fish condition not ability to grow. It reflects if they have been growing , not can they grow . I agree that certain RWs can define the condition of a fish such as in declining condition ( no growth or near dead). If a fish remains at a low RW it can be stunted , sick , starved or near dead. But consider this - a 100% RW female in Feb can be a 70% RW female in April due to spawning.

Growth is better explained by bioenergetics. The first amount of energy consumed = basic metabolic functions ( breathing ,organ function , respiration) while the next additional energy consumed = growth. I can find the specific data on growth ( temp , calories etc) but I am not sure it would help with the question

Try this link for an explanation and charts - http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-1193/
Also try this: https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/fi...easy-to-measure-index-of-fish-condition/

"Fisheries managers often need to know if fish are growing poorly or even losing weight. Lack of food, poor water quality, poor water temperatures (too hot or too cold), or disease can cause stress that results in poor growth. While growth may be difficult to measure, condition or plumpness of the fish is easy to measure and indicates if the fish are under stress."

As usual, the RW of the female has to be tiptoed around; if a male bass was caught with a high RW, then he's been eatin' or drinkin' to many Shiners.

The more I read that, the funnier it gets.

Thanks guys, for answering another one of my crazy questions. While I'm fishing I think of questions and then usualy ask them after I'm done fishing. My question made sense to me when I asked it but now that I've read some responses I guess it realy didn't make much sense. Oh well, I still learned from it.

I skimmed through the bioenergetics thread but it's going to take a lot more than a skimming to grasp that concept.

Basicaly, I can't look at rw as an indicator of ability to grow but it's still a good indicator of the condition of the fish.

Thanks

The question did make sense and was a good one. The type of answer needed was the uncertain part.

The bioenergetics concept is not hard but measuring all the variables is tough. Concept is : energy in = basic energy needs + growth.

To id growth watch the change in RWs over time. If the fish go from 90 to 100 then you have growth.


Burger that was a classic thought !!!!

Plus 1.

Burger, that is a classic post.

Classic as in favorable, or classic Burger?

Both and both are good !

I meant it as a compliment as in classic - favorable.

I completely understand you wanting clarification however. Sometimes even I don't understand half of what I say.

Just keep in mind that in developing the Wr scale, it sets 100 at the 75th percentile so a fish with a Wr of 100 is heavier than 75% of the fish of the same length. It is also based on the average of weights over a year. So a Wr of 90 could be great depending on when it was and the sex of the fish. Using the Wr scale is best applied by recording the lengths and weights of fish over a year then averaging the weights and comparing them to the table.

Thanks Ryan. I'll keep that in mind. It looks like the average Wr of my LMB will be roughly 80% this year. I'm working on increasing the Wr by removing lots of LMB 20 so far this year. I still need to remove about 20 more. Next spring my pond will get it's first dose of GSH. I'm getting 250,000 GSH fry from Andersons. The additional forage and the reduction in LMB should realy put weight on the LMB.

with the increase in forage and the reduction of the LMB population would it be unreasonable to expect 2-3 lb LMB by next year? Right now most of the LMB are roughly 11-14 oz. there are a few heroes in the 1-2 lb range.

Thanks again