I'd be willing to bet that most people don't realize just how many fish a LMB will eat per year. That's why BG have such high reproductive cycles. That's also why we aren't walking across our ponds on the backs of the BG. 99%+ of the ones hatched get eaten.
Thanks Scott.
Anybody who has fished my main pond knows they will catch a lot of bluegill that are bigger than most of the largemouth bass they will pull out of that pond.
It is a pond with lots of stunted largemouth bass. Yes, there are a few Big Bubba Bass (BBBs) in there. But the vast majority of LMB are 10 inches or less. In the 10-12 inch range, using the Cody Technique, I suspect the BG in that range probably outnumber the LMB by a significant number.
It is a pond I've cultured for big bluegill. It is very common to catch a number of bluegill in the 10-12 inch range. Now and then we get some bigger ones.
The smaller adult bluegill that don't fit into the mouths of these smaller bass get invited in for dinner whenever they are hooked. This pond also has some pretty good sized Hybrid Striped Bass (HSB), and it always has too many oversized channel catfish (CC). Long before we bought the property, somebody put black crappie in this pond. There are still some of them who act as predators. None are ever released if brought to shore. It is common to catch about 5 to 10 black crappie early each spring. All are usually in the 14-16 inch range.
With all of this predation, I'm surprised I have any bluegill at all. What we do have is always a lot of fun to catch. Many are also very enjoyable at a fish fry.
This same pond has also produced a number of redear sunfish in the range of 2+ lbs., and/or 14 inches.
As for the bluegill eaten by bass each season, it is probably in the millions if we start counting them at the yolksac stage. From late April to late September it is probably in the many thousands each day.
Ken
