Originally Posted By: Scott E
Ok so it seems like it may depend on what you define as an overpopulation. Some folks really want to catch eating size Bluegill as one of their pond management goals. So for them, "overpopulation" might look like loads of forage-sized fish. On the other hand, if I only wanted to fish for LMB, that same pond might seem perfectly well balanced. Does that sound right? Am I missing something?

I just never hear anyone complaining that their Bluegill are SO overpopulated that they are harming the LMB population. It makes sense that it could happen up north where the bass grow slower; I've just never heard anyone say that they've seen it happen. I know it happens all the time with Crappie, I just never hear about it actually happening with Bluegill.

Am I wrong? Or is that sort of overpopulation really as common as overpopulation of LMB and Crappie?


I've seen it with BG in an Ohio pond, maybe 1-1.5 acres. Enormous numbers of BG, hardly any larger than 3 or 4 inches, with no LMB that we could find. Fished it hard, but the catch never varied. Might be overpopulation of green sunfish, I was too ignorant to know the difference at the time.

7ac 2015 CNBG RES FHM 2016 TP FLMB 2017 NLMB GSH L 2018 TP & 70 HSB PK 2019 TP RBT 2020 TFS TP 25 HSB 250 F1,L,RBT -206 2021 TFS TP GSH L,-312 2022 GSH TP CR TFS RBT -234, 2023 BG TP TFS NLMB, -160