Hello folks. I own and or manage several ponds in western Colorado. When most people think Colorado, they think trout. We are in an area that is just a little too warm for trout. They survive, but if you catch them in July or August, they die, and they never reproduce in our waters. I have one pond doing well with LMB, BG, CC, Black Crappie, and some FHM. I really wish it had more bluegill. I'm in the process of building a new dam and pond that will get flooded next spring. Stocking fish here, especially warm water species, is highly regulated, and very expensive.

Welcome to the forum Brad. I'm down in the sw corner of the state near Dolores.
My pond is considered cool watered. YP do well in it; LMB can be prolific if not heavily culled. I'm having a hard time getting BG established. They went in 4 years ago; GSF went in 3 years ago. I rarely see or catch a BG. GSF are abundant and some have reached 11 inches. Chunks, for sure.
My pond is clay bottomed. I've added a few rock piles and a variety of other cover. Elodea is thick.
I haven't determined why I can't get BG recruitment. Our regional fisheries biologist states that our local lakes are just not warm enough for reliable, abundant BG reproduction.
I'd like to get some of our experts' advice on increasing BG productivity. Maybe whatever they advise for one of us will work for the other, too.
I'll be following this thread with interest.
Thanks for joining us. There are few Colorado posters on the forum.
Roger

The bluegill I have in the pond that is established spawn after the bass. Probably a tempature thing, but I’d love to hear an expert opinion on that too.

Roger, I find it strange that the GSF are prolific and BG aren't.

Roger,
Several of our smaller ponds have inherited GSF from upstream neighbors. A book about Colorado fish that my son brought home from school says they spawn at 55 degrees like crappie, and bluegill at 68. It probably takes an extra month for our ponds to make that change. That could be why we are seeing lack luster performance from our Bluegill. I have heard of one pond near Montrose that used to be GSF and YP, but is now almost all BG. It is a reclaimed gravel pit, so now I’m thinking gravel might be an answer.

DD1, yes I've found it strange that GSF increase in abundance while BG dwindle.
If indeed GSF spawn earlier at lower water temp than BG, the greenie fry and fingerlings could be gobbling up the later hatched BG?
The BG stockers went in the year I started hammering down the LMB numbers. I took out just over 100 LMB that year. The next year, the year I stocked GSF, I only was able to remove approx 45 LMB. Year after that, 30 something. This year it's down in the teens, and a number of LMB are eating Optimal BG, so have little need to eat sunfish.
It could be the LMB got too many BG early on, although the year after I stocked BG I could catch and release a few each day I fished.
Pardon my late reply. I travelled to se Colorado for several days of excellent dove hunting.
Brad, thanks for you posts. We may soon have some answers.
Roger

Perhaps consider Pumpkinseed sunfish over Bluegill. Not only a gorgeous fish to look at that prefers cooler waters, they also grow to nice sizes, reproduce monthly like gills, and, they eat snails like Redear

I am reminded that this stuff is largely or often regional. In my area about 60 miles NNW of Fort Worth, I have a small forage pond that is mostly Green Sunfish. I never intentionally stocked them. Channel cats are the only predator. When I seine it, I find mostly GSF and readily dump both GSF and BG into my one acre pond. There, catching a GSF is not unusual but actually rare. The predators there are probably about 7 or 8 HSB and some unknown quantity of bass that survived a serious drought.

I'm also reminded that it's seine time again.

Rainman, thanks for chiming in.
Yes, I'm in agreement with you about the beauty and desirability of pumpkinseeds. I grew up catching them in eastern Pennsylvania.
As Brad mentioned in his first post, sourcing warm water species is not easy here in Colorado. We have no warm water fish suppliers closer than an 8 hour drive. Permitting is not a piece of cake. I've never heard of a fish truck passing through, although people got their LMB, GSF, YP, and BCP somehow in the past.
I'll track down some PS and make the long drive in cool weather.

If you find a source for PS, I'd like to know about it. Maybe we could split the cost. I'm not sure how the permitting would be, but I got permitted for BG, so PS shouldn't be any different.

Thanks everyone for your input. I thought I knew what I wanted for my new pond, but reading the forum has got me thinking about a lot of different angles. Lots of fun!