I have a 1.5a pond, with a mix of CNBG and pure BG. I hand feed once a day.

My biggest BG are ~8", with the very biggest of the big ones being only ~9".

Of course I much prefer my BG to look like Bruce's, so I'm always scheming.

I seem to have good spawns, and am not overly predator heavy at present. I believe I can sacrifice some 09 class BG to improve my genetics, and maybe cull every spring.

My 09 class varies all over the place. Some are very small, some are pretty robust, already around 3". Of course the variation is partly because some were from earlier spawns and some from later spawn. However, some are obviously bigger due to being dynamic feeders.

My question is, what if I trap large numbers of my 09 class and cull them? If I cull the short and/or skinny ones, would it be worth the effort? How soon could I expect to see an overall size improvement? Would it be closer to 2, 3, or 5 years? Has anyone done casual culling and seen positive results?

Many thanks,,,

good question bobad, i would like to know the answer myself, my guess is that 1.5 acre is big enough you wont do much with "casual" culling. If you worked at it maybe, but there has got to be a TON of BG in the pond. I bet you could effect size by feeding more/more often or adding a feeder than casual culling. Or adjusting the predator balance would have greater effect. Im curious as to what others would say.

I've never seen much in the results area from casual culling. Culling Louisiana bluegill with continuous spawning could turn into work.

I agree with Dave. I don't think you could make much of a dent in the ever-spawning population by trapping. You'd be better off adding some medium size LMB and a few dozen 10-15 inch channel cats. And, don't remove any LMB or channel cats for at least a year. They'll cull the small BG pretty fast, and I think you'd see results in months, not years. I'd also start pulling all of the small BG you catch, plus all mature female BG -- except for the very largest female BG.

Even though the fish population in my main pond is pretty much the way I want it, I still keep records of every fish caught -- whether released or kept. It is amazing how a continuous survey helps to point you in the right direction.

Ken

What type of trap are you using... Some traps like fyke nets are pretty darn efficient and will certainly catch a lot of BG. Something like a simple cylindrical minnow trap will not make much of a dent...

Now if you did catch a ton of BG in a fyke net which is very possible... The amount of work it would take you sort through the fish and cull out the ones thought to be inferior would be very time consuming. If you were willing to put in the time and purchasing a fyke net of substantial size, I think you could make a dent in the BG and you could cull out fish you felt were not desirable. The biggest trick would be deciding which fish were inferior, slow growing etc, while figuring out which were superior, fast growing, etc...