I personally think you will get good growth out of the Game Fish Chow. I think you will get a lot better growth than no feed at all.
It would just be better if you could get the better feed.
I agree with snrub. Keep in mind, even though the BG don't get as much gain ... the excrement containing feed not fully digested will be eaten by pond creatures that are very good food for your BG.
John, if your pond is used to being fed, I wouldn't cut them off of the feed abruptly. If you plan to stop feeding, there should be a a way to wean them off feed gradually without deleterious effects. Since you have a goal of 1 lb bluegill here are a few ideas.
1. Without the feed, you will need to reduce the number of bluegill. Perhaps you can supplement LMB numbers with LMB large enough to escape predation.
2. You could manually remove <6" BG by fishing or seining. Someone recently posed the question of how to grind fish in order to feed pond fish. If this isn't too much trouble, it seems a brilliant way to reduce BG recruitment and feed BG directly.
3. You could harvest some 6" to 9" BG focusing on females that you have already fed and grown.
The amount you harvest/crop should probably be related to how much (weight of feed) you've been feeding them annually. I don't know what this number would be, perhaps others can offer ideas with regard to this.
Feed is not unlike fertilization. It takes the pond to a new level of production. Curtailing this fertility can have unwanted side effects. So fertilization and feed are accompanied with their contingent commitments to stay the course. Even so, you could transition to less or no feed just be sure to have a plan in place if you determine this course of action.
I know your goal of 1lb BG is important to you because you have written about it many times. Don't forget that it can be done without fertilization or feed. I know this because I have caught a number of them from ponds which are not fertilized nor fed. These ponds had very numerous LMB. If you don't need feed or fertilization, then you can do it with Game Fish Chow for supplemental feed and fertility. Regardless of whether you feed this feed or that, or even if you feed at all, it will be the management of bluegill numbers that will play the most important role in achieving the 1lb BG goals.
