Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Corrective stocking Stocking 5-8 inch LMB into ponds w/ existing fish?

After electrofishing surveys on 3 BOWs with existing fish populations in May the lake management company, in addition to telling us to harvest a good number of intermediate sized LMB, is suggesting we stock 5-8 inch hatchery LMB into these ponds to diversify the genetics.

The intermediate sized LMB in all of these ponds are largely in the 12-14.5 inch range.....and there are lots of them.

According to Bob Lusk's "Raising Trophy Bass" book, a 12-14.5 LMB can choke down a 5-7 inch LMB without any problem (page 122 of that book).

Why would I want to stock LMB that size into our BOWs if they just turn into expensive food nuggets for the existing population? I asked about getting 8-10 inch LMB to stock and am waiting for an answer from the hatchery.

Anyone care to weigh in? What is the "normal" size LMB that are stocked into ponds with an existing population of fish? I am nervous about stocking 5-8 inchers into our ponds. Thanks. BM61

Why do they want you to deversify genetics ? Is there a lot of feed in your pond?

you have to many take some out and also put some in.....HA HA

Perhaps remove all your going to remove first so you are not removing the ones you just put in.

once you get your balance inline then evaluate.... perhaps a few larger fish to assist with genetics if needed or wanted.

Yes we have a harvest target in all ponds this year....we will be there in all ponds by the end of the season. The stocking is recommended for AFTER we reach our harvest targets. Stocking now scheduled for spring 2017. All ponds 60+ years old and have never been restocked since the original stocking in the early 1950s. Next year (2017) would call for zero LMB harvest then in 2018 we would harvest all LMB under 12 inches.

The genetics is just part of the plan to get these BOWs back to their glory days. One needs more adult bluegill. The bluegill we are going to stock are 5-7 inches. Another has plenty of golden shiners. They all lack enough brushy cover. They all have too many LMB.

Electrofishing survey and pond analysis/recommendations done by very reputable lake and pond management company that has deep ties to Pond Boss magazine, Bob Lusk and PB conferences.

I would think that you could also achieve your goals by adding fewer (5 per acre) of 10" as has been suggested to me by a Ms. marine biologist.

Well here is what you need to remember. Most bass can take / eat something 1/3 their length. Some will try to eat something bigger than that some times yes. But your 15 inch bass I don't really think would mess with to many 8 inch bass. The 5 inch would be a concern. If you went this route I would just get 8 inch or 8 to 10 like you said.

RC

The question is risk. Both plans will work (5 inch and 10 inch)but the risks are different. Stocking enough 5 inch (guess work) can lead to either not enough or to many surviving leading to balance problems. The risk of stocking 10 inch is their survival. Many larger fish especially hatchery reared ones stocked into an existing fishery starve or do not adapt to their new home. Because it is not an immediate problem I would harvest more and then stock only a few select genetic 8- 10 inch LMB a year over 3 years.

Search habituation here for proper implementation. Also strongly suggest you get PB mag and read the recent articles on stocking LMB into an existing fishery.

habituation links

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.ph...=true#Post22246



http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.ph...=true#Post26019

Thanks for all of the great info and additional PB forum discussions....I am more convinced that I need to find LMB bigger than 5-8 inches to stock. I like the 8-10 inch size. And the habituation concept makes a lot of sense to me as these stockers will certainly be a bit disoriented after a likely 2 hour ride in the fish truck. Maybe a PVC "box" with netting might be the way to go for the first couple of hours.....and I think the release needs to happen near some existing structure. Great info on this forum. And I need to review my recent issues of PB for the stocking articles mentioned by ewest above. BM61

You might have seen his banner or his add in the PB magazine but if not....

Clint (CRAY) has advanced sized LMB and CNBG available, Might be the perfect fit depending on your climate. He has F1 northern crosses that might do OK and breed with your native local genes?

Not Sure about CNBG in your area, guess it depends on how far up you are. That is more of an expert question which I am not...

http://trophypondsolutions.com/

Given your time frame you should be able to pick a fish provider and have them grow out exactly what you want. Make a deal up front and be ready to pay part of the price in advance. Put it in writing though.

That is a great idea ewest. I had not thought of that option. The hatchery I have been in touch with says they might be able to "cull" that larger sized LMB out of their ponds. I will also talk to them about the "grow them out exactly the way I want" angle. I only need about 200 LMB in the 8-10 inch range so that doesn't sound like too monumental of a task. thanks. BM61

Keep us posted. If they will not help there are others that will.

UPDATE: I heard back from the hatchery i have been in contact with and they tell me they will not be able to fill my request for 200 8-10 inch LMB in the spring of 2017. My only choices are the 5-8 inch and then a 1-1.25 pound size. The larger fish, they tell me, are $10 per pound based on current pricing.....that does not work for me. Their price on adult bluegill (5-7 inchers) is very good but the price on the larger LMB is too high IMO.

I will start shopping for a different hatchery in central Illinois or close to St. Louis tomorrow (as ewest suggested I might need to do). The Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources has an "approved" list of fish dealers in the state.....I will begin my search there.

Kind of frustrating.....not sure why they would not cull out or grow out some 8-10 inchers for me...clearly they must have some fish that size if they are selling ones that are larger.

Just another bump in the road for this pondmeister in training.

I would message Rainman here on the forum and see if he can do better than the fish farm. I know he delivers fish in Central Illinois.

Good Luck!

Bassmaster, the "dealers" list only has about 6 actual hatcheries, and none are close to St Louis. Anyone purchasing a bait dealer or aquaculture permit makes the "list".

$10/lb is actually less expensive than the per fish price to weight ratio, and is in line for LMB.

I do have access to a couple hundred thousand feed trained LMB in Wildwood...