Rah, it seems to work out that way and may just be a Southern thing. We have a longer growing/spawning/feeding season than up North. A consideration is, in certain areas like mine, hot weather/evaporation and lack of summer rains to keep up with it. A 1/2 acre pond can turn into a 1/4 acre in a hurry. And, that top 1/4 will have will contain about 40% of the water.

I get a lot of pond questions around my area regarding too many runt bass. I've been asked to look at a lot of them. An acre of water(think of a football field) seems pretty big until balance is considered. We know that bass and bluegills have a symbiotic relationship. Only bass can keep bluegills in check and only bluegills spawn enough(rolling spawn) and are prolific enough to feed bass. Sooner or later in smaller ponds, the bass overeat their food supply and stunt. That's why we know to start culling early and never release a bass under about 13 inches after the second year of stocking. An exception would be a bass that clearly exceeds an accepted weight ratio. Also, in those smaller ponds, the bass dang sure learn about the perils of footsteps on the bank and develop lockjaw.

Absent bass, bluegills over spawn and an O2 crash is inevitable. Been there/done that.

All of the above makes me recommend HBG and HSB or channel cats.

To get bigger bass, we have to heavily cull to allow the BG to get large enough to feed larger bass. Right now, Al Hall, with 11 acres of water is busting his butt culling bass in his quest to feed the big girls. If we don't do that the smaller bass can wipe out smaller bluegills that we need to grow.

Last edited by Dave Davidson1; 07/13/18 06:11 AM.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP