Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Creating the food chain bluegill a must?

I own a 40 acre lake in Ontario, Canada. I have stocked it with adult bass over the last several years and I now expect I have close to 300 in there. The bass, both small and largemouth, have reproduced and the yearlings are 4-6 inches in lenght. Minnows were plentiful before the bass were stocked and are rarely sighted. The bass are not fat, but not thin.

Will I run out of forage without bluegill or another forage species? Do pumkinseed provide good forage?

Sunfish are more common in the area, although some lake around do have bluegill. Hatcheries around here sell neither species.

thanks!

Your lake can quickly run out of minnow forage with a large population of LM & SM bass that will quickly develop. Each bass will want to eat in Ontario 5 to 8 lbs of forage each year. I question if only minnow forage can keep up with the current and future bass production each year. Rarely seeing minnows any more is not a good sign. You should still see minnows in the shallows in the evening around the weed beds. Go out and bait some traps or drop moist bread in shallow water areas to check for presence of minnows.

To have any type of decent bass fishery I think you will need bluegills and or sunfish. Perch may also be a beneficial forage species in your area. Rice Lake (Peterborough) NE of Toronto is a famous large, shallow lake for its bluegill & perch populations that work in Ontario. I'm sure there numerous others. You may have to get your bgill in ways that you got the LMB.