Ok last year i started 4 ponds from scratch with the goal of growing my own adult Florida bass to be distriuted in a 4, 7, and 30 acre lake being that I couldn't buy adults anywhere really. I stocked then with forage, fertilized, and stocked them at a rate of 200 fingerling Floridas per acre. The pond sizes are a .5, 1 acre, and two .1 acre ponds. One of the .1 acre ponds i put 25 F1's in just for a change.

Here are the results follow by my question I need advice on.
.1 acre Florida stocked
I had a 65% survival rate. (Drained it) Yet all were ~12" and Wr's of 100+%. They were fat as ever. Two were 13" long
.1 Acre F1 stocked
85% survival rate atleast. These fish are little small than the Floridas above with the 65% survival, ranging around 11-12" Wr's in the mid 90's.
.5 acre Florida pond
No successful count due to size and depth however these fish are around the exact same size as the .1 acre florida pond with the 65% survival rate. They are 12-13" and in very good shape. Just a long-shot im guessing their survival rate was close to the same.

Now comes the kicker...
1 acre pond, same stocking rate as all the ones above.
I noticed immediatly this year that they are quite a bit smaller than the fish coming out of the other ponds, yet this pond was stocked the same. Also, to add to it, this pond held the best bloom out of the all the ponds. I had fatheads swarming around the banks all the way around. Everthing seems to work perfectly in this pond last year. Yet all the bass are around 8.5-9" long. Based on what I saw in the previous ponds the only thing I can think of is they had a near perfect survival rate. Maybe the perfect early bloom and abundance of Fatheads helped with that.

Anyways just thought i'd share my story...

Now my big question.

I have been transferring the Floridas and F1's out of the other ponds quite successfully via draining one and hook-line the others. (Another note here is I noticed no difference in catchability of the 1 year old F1's or Floridas. This may change as they get older though.) Due to their ~12" size I fill they will be fine in these larger lakes with nothing gonna bother them.
What would you do with the 1 acre pond though with all the 8-9" Floridas. I have two options basically. Catch as many as I can out now and hope they survive ok in the larger lakes, or pour the forage in this spring and try to push them up to 11-12 inches then take them out??????

The 30 acre lake where most are going has a strong population of 16-18.5" bass. Not sure how the 8-9" Floridas will stand as far as survival, what does everyone think?

If i do leave them in can i grow that many up to 12" with forage or will they stunt due to their numbers. Im thinking about adding Tilapia in May at a higher rate than normal to put some weight on. say 30 lbs per acre...

Move them or Not, thats the question.

Thanks for the update. I'd throw larger forage at them so they didn't have to work as hard for a meal, GSH and Tilapia. Was there any other forage in the ponds besides FHM?

While 8" might be slightly above what the larger LMB would target, with all the time and care you spent on getting them to that size, I'd hate for any of them to become a snack.

here was the stocking strategy based on a 1 acre pond. Same

1 Acre Pond
200 1-2" Florida bass (MAY)
100 3-6" CNBG (March)
20 lbs Fatheads(March)
20 lbs Tilapia (MAY)

anyone else have an opinion on what I should do with the 8-9 inch bass?

Feed 'em golden shiners, they might have to work too hard to get enough FHM.

Chad,

Feed them shiners and tilapia this spring, let them ride another year, then move as many as possible in time for the spring bass spawn 2011. Another plus with this plan is that they may be mature now and spawn this spring, then you'd have your own crop of florida fingerlings to do something with in this 1 acre pond. Maybe leave it as a pure florida source for the long-term, catching and moving fish annually to supplement your other fisheries???

I agree with Todd. I would move them next fall . I might also add a few adult BG to get those #s up if it they are low

Thats basically the plan, have my own Florida bass ponds. I am doing the same same thing with the .5 acre pond. Being that the fish in the .5 acre are already 12" I have no issues and am already moving them successfully.

Just wanted to make sure I make the right decision on the 1 acre pond with the 8-9" bass as far as letting them grow or moving them also.

What do you guys suggest on Shiner and Tilapia stocking rates?

How deep are your pockets? If there isn't a lot of cover for the GHS to pull off a spawn in, then I'd go heavier. How big do you want to get the LMB? I might be called silly, but if there is biomass room in the pond, I'd consider stocking 20# of GSH and 10-15# of Tilapia, but I'd get Todd's recomendation and go with that.

Keep repeating "Go to bed with their mouths open and wake up with a full belly."