When you mention "keeping", does that equate to having them for dinner, or keeping them in the pond? If your goal is 1 lb bluegills, either the HBG or the BG can achieve that pretty easily. I'm not sure what you mean by typical size increases, however?
If by keeping, you mean fileting, then you might want to rethink the strategy of keeping the largest bluegills. You want the big guys to remain, to encourage the smaller guys to continue growing and delay maturity...which should mean bigger fish. Also, the biggest size class of BG are often the ones genetically predisposed for larger growth... you want those genetics. However, the HBG need not remain in the pond solely on the basis of good genetics, since they should not be managed as a self-sustaining species. At least that's what conventional wisdom currently tells us.
If you're not after absolute max growth, trophy fish, then I would harvest the HBG when they reach a pound.
An abundance of 3-5" size class bluegills is common for the ponds in my area. It could mean a shortage of appropriately sized predators for those fish, and/or too much cover, allowing the smaller bluegills to escape predation. If it were me, and I truly had too many fish of that size, I might give some thought to removing them via angling, trapping, or possibly seining.
The GSF....I would keep the largest ones for the table, and cull the others. just my opinion.
FEED THOSE FISH.....no bigger bang for your buck.
Also, you might want to consolidate some of your posts under one thread. Several of your recent posts are dealing with essentially the same subject, and it would be helpful to have all of the info in one place, rather than having to search back through several threads to piece it all together. No problem, just makes it easier for everyone to try and help.
