Pond Boss Forums INTRO New Forum Member Introduction managing my pond for hybrid bluegill

I posted earlier this year that I stocked my new 1/2 acre pond with 200 HBG and 100 CC on aprill 20th well now 5 and 1/2 months later my Cc are 8 to 11 inches long and have noticed and took samples of my HBG there are too size classe the larger from 4.5 to 5.5 inches and the smaller size are ranging around 2 inches that don't seem much smaller but they look way smaller. Can I safely assume the smaller size class are f2 HBG since they seem to be more numerous and young looking. The reason I'm asking if they are offspring I would like to put some small bass in to controll the f2 and could also use my fish trap to remove the smaller ones if they are indeed offspring HBG. Thanks in advance for any opinions or advice.

Patrick:

For fun, look into Smallmouth Bass and Hybrid Striped Bass first to control the HBG offspring. You can always add LMB, but once LMB are in the pond, SMB won't thrive. I'm not saying LMB are bad, but with the fecundity rates for HBG, I don't know if there will be enough YOY fish to support the LMB once they start spawning in the pond

Those are likely F2 or FX HBG if there is that much size different. However the time frame seems a little short but possible. Are you feeding pellets ?

This was an entirely new pond, not an enlargement of an existing one? And there is no other BOW that could flow into it, during a heavy rain event?

I'm with Ewest, the math is possible, but barely. At any rate, in my opinion you need some predators. I like the idea of some HSB also, but it's hard to beat the near guaranteed effectiveness of a few 8" LMB. Stay on top of any aquatic vegetation, don't let it become excessive.

That's a LOT of CC...

I have an 18 month old HBG/CC pond. I've stocked HBG twice last year and once this year. I also put in some tilapia this year. My HBG definitely spawned successfully this spring and summer.

I have a hard time getting HSB in this area, so I added five SMB that were 4-6 inches. Time will tell.

I know I've got a lot of yolk sac and fry size fishes of some kind right now. They are still too small for me to tell if they are sunfish or tilapia. I've got them in an aerated bucket in hopes they grow enough in the next few days to determine what they are.

Thanks for all the replies everybody. But I'm confused to what a FX HBG is. And yes I'm feeding a 36 percent protein pellet ranging from 1/16 to 1/4 inch pellet since I've stocked it. The pond has been redug after it dried up completely last summer its dug down to about 11 foot max depth and the only pond that drains into it is a small .15 acre pond that dried up last year and every year for the last 3 so there shouldn't be any fish coming in from runoff. And one more thing I added 5 ponds of FHM 2 months prior to the stocking of HBG an CC.

FX is any offspring after F-1 or any cross between 2 parents who are not pure. Example a HBG cross with a BG , or a GSF cross with a HBG or a cross where one or both parents is not pure like a fish that is 75% BG and 25% GSF with another fish.

Stated another way any fish other than a pure strain or an F-1 cross (which is the cross from 2 pure parents (BG X GSF = an F-1 HBG).

Well bad news I caught 50 2-3 inch sunfish in the pond today in 15 minutes that I think are green sunfish and then caught the same thing in the small pond that runs into mine witch I thought dried up last yea[u][/u]r so it appears I have a green sunfish invasion which is a problem so I think I have no choice but to add largemouth bass and fast.

Before you put LMB in there, have you looked into stocking HSB? They don't control BG as well as LMB due to the reduced gape size, but GSF are more elongated than BG, so that may be a moot point. The HSB typically don't spawn in a pond, so they are easy to manage - 10 go in, 10 come out and you know you've removed them all.

I havnt been able to find a supplier that has hsb in south eastern ks

Here is a source for HSB and I think they are pellet trained too. Shouldn't be too far for you.

Trophy Fisheries
Leonard Jirak
540 16th Road NW
Hartford, KS 66854
Tel: (620) 364-5552
Cell: (620) 203-8081

Here's a link that might have at least one more supplier on it.

http://www.kansasaquaculture.org/DIRECTORY.HTML

I'm assuming "vipers" are supposed to be "wipers", which are HSB.

I've tried calling Leonard jirak couple days in a row and couldn't get ahold of him but ill keep trying. Thanks for all the help tho I really do appreciate it.

Try his cell phone in the evening just after dark when most fish guys are in the house after their busy day activities. That is when I have the best luck getting in touch with them. I would first try the HSB and stock heavy (40-60/ 0.5ac), you can always remove them once the greenies are low density and growing to harvestable sizes which should take 2-3 yrs. Greenies should grow to 7"-8" in 3-4yrs with ample food and low competition. greenies will get to 9" and even 10" long.

Get or build yourself some fish tarps. Greenies like to go into fish traps even unbaited traps for some reason. I've caught lots of greenies in traps. I'm now catching 30-70 every 3 days in 3 homemade traps.

Here is another guy that has some HSB in Kansas

Wallace Fish Farms and
Lake Management
Charles W. Wallace
P.O. Box 56
Allen, KS 66833-9307
Tel: (620) 344-3679
Fax: (620) 528-3061
email: Wallace@satelephone.com
Website: http://wallacefishfarm.com/