Snrub,

Sorry, I did a poor job of explaining.

In April 2014 I stocked around 300 FHM and they started spawning almost immediately. In June I stocked the BG. By the fall I had 1000s of FHM and the BG had also produced a small spawn. This is when the YP and PS were stocked. The bass were put in around September. Concerned that the existing FHM would not be enough forage to get the YP and the bass thru the winter, 10 lbs of FHM were added as a temporary “crutch” for this first winter. If you figure the 50+ YP could easily consume 5 lbs of FHM or more per month just by themselves, I am guessing I will not have many FHM left come March. My thought on stocking FHM in March is to insure the YP have enough forage to be in good condition for spawning. As FHM start spawning in relatively cold water, I am hoping there will be some leftover from the March stocking to get off a few spawns and take some pressure off the new YP spawn. I expect the FHM to disappear from the food chain.


Longer term…I expect a good spawn from the BG this spring. I am hoping the PS (if any survive predation this winter) will perhaps have a small spawn in the fall. Once I establish vegetation in the spring, I am hoping to find BNM and SFS to stock as additional, hopefully more sustainable forage than FHM.

The hatchery where I got the YP was not certain the YP were pellet trained. I will be feeding pellets to the SF and the CC when the water warms.

So the question is……. is stocking 10 or 15 lbs of FHM in March a good idea, unnecessary or is there a downside I am not seeing?

Bill D.

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