I'm researching creating a pond that would have approx. 1 surface acre and be 12' to 18' deep. The cost will be about $25000+. Before I go any further with this project I would like some idea of the bass population my pond would produce. Assuming this 1 surface acre were managed properly, how many hybred bass could I expect to have in 5 years. And what would be the break down in the following catigories:
1--# of 3 lb
2--# of 2 1/2 lb
3--# of 2 lb
4--# of 1 1/2 lb
5--# of 1 lb

6--# of mature bluegill

I would manage it for 2 lb to 2 1/2 lb bass

I'm trying to figure out what I can expect from my $25000+ toy/investment.
The summers are hot here and water temps would reach into the high 70's at least. I would be adding at least 330000 gals of cooler water from a well each month during the summer.
Winter conditions would be mostly above freezing (N Cal).
Thanks for any info
Terry

Make that--"summer water temps of mid to high 80's "
Thanks
Terry

The hybrid bass won't reproduce so whatever you put in each year minus how many you take out is what you'll have. They eat a lot of forage. I think that w/in 2 years you could have 2 pounders with ample forage available to them. How many blg/hybrid bass were you thinking of stocking? I know fish farms are able to feed their hybrids pellet food which may save some of the bluegill population as well as helping them grow as well. I know that doesn't answer your question, but I just thought I'd let you know what I think I know about it. Good luck.

When you say hybrid bass you do mean hybrid sripers right? Some people will say hybrid bass or hybrid largemouth bass in reference to the F1 florida x nortern largemouth crossbreed.

If you do mean hybrid sripers (white bass x striped bass) than you definatly want to feed them pellet feed. In many areas the growing season is long enough to grow them 2 pounds per year. They can be grown over 10 pounds with ample food supply and the world record is 27. If 2 1/2 pounds is big enough for you than you could probly stock them at a much higher rate than the usual 30 per acre. Since they are open water feeders and cannot ambush prey in heavy cover near as well as LMB I would reccomend not putting in a whole lot of cover (if any)for your bluegill. This way the stripers will be able to thin the bluegill population enough for them to reach large sizes.
So if you feed them like hogs, in five years you could have about 30 7-10 pound stripers. Since they won't spawn, the ones from the same stocking should be about the same size and as a general rule the more you stock the smaller they will be.
-Scott