Do you have a good idea of how old this BG is? It is likely one of your first stocked BG.
I can't be sure.
The second photo posted of the Bream in the ice chest with blue water, was one that I caught a year ago or more. So there were some really big ones in there last year.
Keep in mind , I break all the rules.
I feed these fish year around. All through the winter, as much as they will eat in a feeding. They will boil the water in as low as 38-45 degrees. I am near certain that these fish go down deep after feeding in cold temps. Where the water is warmer.
The growth rates I have experienced are exceptional.
I just finished feeding, and I am sure that at some point i will catch a bigger one than the one seen a the top of this page. Another thing to keep in mind is that the trophy fish are much harder to catch than the others. These are smart fish. They had to be smart to get this big.
I have problems with a various assortment of birds, everything from King Fishers, to Great blue Herons, to Osprey. Yes Osprey. Believe it or not. And then there is this another bird that kinda looks like an egret, yet he is blue with a fluffy neck and he is pesky. And lets not forget about the Cormorant which is the worst bird of all. Yes I have had to deal with all of these at some point. As well as a 6 foot alligator.
It is an ongoing battle that never ends. As long as there are an abundance of fish, it will attract those less than desirable characters who want to eat them.......
All I can figure is the large trophy fish sense these predators and have learned to evade. In some but not all cases. They get taken too, sometimes. So my theory is to grow the fish as fast as you can, feed them well year around, and what gets taken is replaced in no time. It is a cycle that never ends. As long as you have a healthy pond, you will battle this forever. If you're not feeding your fish at least 200 pounds per month, you should be.
The general rule is " if you have an abundance of large Bream, you will have small run down bass." Conversely, if you have trophy Bass, you will have smallish Bream.
Not the case in my pond at all.
You feed the heck out of the Bream..(the bass feed on this stuff too taking in large gulps when I throw it out in a pile)....the Bream grow large and have lots of fry........the bass have plenty to eat. Result: LARGE Bass and Trophy Bream.
I also throw 200 pounds of small crawfish in there once per year. Though the key to large bass is a lot of bream........I mean a lot of bream. You MUST have a very high Bream to Bass ratio. When I first stocked my pond, I put in 1500-1700 fingerling coppernose. To 50 Largemouth Bass. The Bream to Bass ratio is far far greater than that now. Because it has to be. As the Bass grow, they take in more, they spawn new Bass and if you don't have enough Bream your Bass will look run down, skinny with big heads and no body.
It is absolutely imperative that your bream vastly outnumber your Bass.Which in turn means, a hell of a lot of feeding.
Anyway , these are my findings. This is what has worked for me.
