I had to stock out of season. 2/3 ac.pond rebuilt last Sept. Filled over winter. Stocked with 300 ea. CNBG and straight BG, 100 RES, 2# fatheads in late Mar., early Apr. Been feeding 40 and 44% pellets since. Stocked 75 F-1 LMB fingerlings in Aug. 75 HSB fingerlings in Sept. I have had at least 4 spawns of BG. Largest appear to be 3 inches or so. LMB are seen in schools in shallows hearding up the small fatheads and BG. They are 6-8 inches, maybe a few larger, but seem to be chasing very small prey.
I am afraid the larger spawned BG will outpace the LMB and be overbundant. I want a fairly balanced pond, with a skew toward larger BG. What can be added to insure the larger spawned BG get eaten? I am considering a few bluecat. Will they be efficient enough? If so, how large, and how many?

thanks

My brother!

Burger, I would be hesitant to add Bluecats since they can get big enough to eat a lot of bass, large ones even.

Can you get a hold of a few (10-15 ???) middlin' sized LMB? Say, 10"-12", that would target the larger YOY BG?

That sounds like enough LMB to take care of the little ones as they grow. The bigger ones? Feed them well, catch, season, batter, and fry.

Burger are the BG growing well ? How big are the initial stock of BG ? If the answers are yes and 4-6 inches I would not add anything else yet. The LMB will work on the yoy BG. The BG out of that group that survive will be your brood stock and your source of large BG. After next spring if you think you have a problem then seine or trap small BG as needed. The 2 problems with to many small BG is BG stunting (no growth) and LMB reproduction suppression. Bottom line if you are feeding the BG can grow and if the LMB reproduce then you are good to go. The LMB will catch up in a hurry.

One indicator that heavy #s of BG are a good way to start in the south are the newer stocking suggestions used by FS. Twice as many BG as the old guidelines and a 25% or more reduction in initial LMB stocking #s (depending on size of fish used , productivity of the pond and specific goals).

The initial stocked BG are growing well. I will let my grandkids sample during the holidays. They are 6 inches and better. I just did not know if the LMB would get large enough quick enough to work on the first batch of BG spawn. I really dont want to add many more LMB, but a few to get some BG before they grow anymore may be in order. As Theo suggested, true 12 inchers. I was thinking the bluecat could also work on them, and then I could catch most of them out after they have done their job.

thanks for the input.

Hello everyone, I'm new on this post and I'm enjoying all the info that I'm reading so far. I'm in GA and move here a year ago. I bought a new house with a approx. 2 1/2 acres pond (new subdivision). I fished the pond numerous times but never caught a Bass. Right now we do not have an organized HOA yet but I would like to stock the pond. I have been catching blue g., shell c., warmouth and bullheads. Most of my catch are small, very few nice size perch. I tried to purchase some fingerlings from DNR but was told that it is not a good idea to do that since most of these bass and blue g firgerlings will be eaten by the larger resident perch. I was adviced to purchase or catch bigger bass and release it in my pond. Any advice to a newby?

Howdy, bman!

Let us know what species are present and the biggest size of them you catch. We can let you know how big a size of bass are needed.

If it's nothing but bream, warmouth, and bullies, the second (or so) size up LMB fingerlings you can buy may be big enough to escape predation.

Welcome to the Pond Boss Forum BMan:
Lucky you in beautiful Georgia. You have really found the right place to learn all you need to know about your pond. I have really been helped here, and subscribe to the Magazine (makes a great x-mas gift). Check out the podcast, and see how you can use a net to see what is in that pond.

burger I have seen few ponds not go bass heavy in a hurry with that stocking stragery. I take it you feeding with your goals. If nto that woudl push growth big time. Good luck

bman you should be catching lots of medium sized "bream" if you have a lack of bass. We will have tons of bass come spring time if interested. If in metro ATL or north GA let us know if the HOA wants an analysis. Good to know what is there before you start adding. Good luck

Thanks for advice, Greg. I have been feeding pretty heavily. I have caught 1 yo BG up to 8 inches and 8.5 oz. I will post pics when I get a break. Most have small heads. After bass spawn, I plan on thinning the first stocking out. Small pond with F1s, hopefully can manage.

That is not bad 125% wr on the bluegill. for top end growth if it fits in budget try some aquamax.

Thanks Theo, the largest shell c. bg and warmouth were about 4-6 inches. I don't see any minnows or shad at all.

bman

Thanks 2Catmon

bman

Stocking 5"-6" LMB should be pretty safe then, IMHO.

sorry I mispelled your name. I will try to net, I'm pretty sure my son would love it since he's been asking me if he can use my throw net. I'll let you know as soon as I can get my son to net some for me!

bman

I'm here in Columbus,GA and thinking of purchasing LMG from DNR. Can you recommend a supplier for me?

Thanks
bman

Greg Grimes http://www.lakework.com . See top of this page.

Might not be a bad idea to start removing every bullhead you catch to be better prepared for an upcoming stocking plan.