Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Raising Forage and Bait Is my 1 acre pond normal?

OK, so i have a 1 acre pond, not many weeds at all, some cat tails, tires, structure the basics. my pond had maybe 20 bass in it 3 years ago, and about 20 bg with 5 10lb+ CC. these past 3 years ive restocked hardcore, throwing in many 3-5 in BG and 12" LMB. i walk around my pond all the time and see fish everywhere, 1000s of bluegill fry up on shore everywhere, but my bass never eat them. i throw pellets out and 3-5 in gills swarm, and the hog LMB come up (5-8lbs) and just look at them. the only time ive seen big LMB try and eat something is when i catch a 12-14in LMB. the big LMB try and eat my catch. is this normal??


Bad Idea ? & Bass not eating ?

I have an acre pond, and 3 weeks ago i put 4 3lb LMB in, 1 5lb LMB in and 1 8lb LMB in. i threw probably 30 3-5'' BG in also. was that a mistake?

Toles welcome to PB. I combined your threads for answers so we can address your pond in one thread.

See this from the archives. You need a good analysis of just what is there to make good choices. Most times it is not a good idea to put in big LMB (3 lbs +) in a small pond that already has established fish populations. Big LMB eating small LMB is very common. What is the condition of the fish you catch ? Pics ?

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=92492#Post92492


Also see this archive on LMB mgt.

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=255372#Post255372

Thanks, I will post pics later

the pic isnt working, condition of my bass i believe is normal, some are kinda skinny, others are pigs. ive always assumed you can tell how healthy they are by the fatness of the bass past the belly, like the mid tail part?

How to post pictures:

Maybe this help you out.

Posting Pictures

Measure the LMB for length, and weigh the fish. Write that information down. Then go to the archives and look up Relative Weights. Open the chart that has LMB in it. Compare your weight to the weights given. If the fish is heavier than the chart it's good. Lighter, and that means that those fish aren't getting enough to eat.

A LMB grows the best with food that is 1/4 to 1/3 it's body size (length). A LMB needs 10# of fish to gain 1# of weight. If you start doing the math, you'll see why it's recommended that you will grow LMB quicker if there are less mouths to feed.

Thanks, i should probably take out the smaller bass then..

That will depend on the RW of the different sized fish. You might find smaller LMB fat, the middle ones skinny, and the largest ones fat. It all depends on the size and quantity of the forage. Large LMB can't stay fat while chasing around small minnows. More calories expended for less calories taken with every mouthful. The smaller LMB get skinnier if they can't fit anything into their mouths too....

There really isn't any substitution for real world data to give you the information that you need to make the correct action plan.