Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations 3 year old bg size

finally got some electronic scales. bg are 3 years old now. we weighed the largest one today and it was 1.5 lbs. we had several more that were close to the same size. is that about average, or above average for growth in the south?

Wow, That is a huge BG. Are they HBG?

they are cnbg

Scott- where did you buy the CNBG to trace back the genetic stock or breeder - producer source.

CNBG Size

Check out that thread for an idea of potential in the south. I would say 1.5lb at 3 years is something to be proud of!

That's well beyond expectations! Keep doing what you are doing and you'll see some fish well beyond two pounds, maybe bigger than 2.5. Keep your water healthy.

they came from american sportfish in montgomery alabama. i stocked 2500 originally (supposedly 15% were redear sunfish) which i think was kinda heavy for a trophy bg pond. i also stocked 2500 fhm at the same time. about 5 or 6 months later i stocked 150 f1 tiger bass. ever so often i see a bg that is in a class of its own. back when the majority of them were averaging 8", i caught one that was 10.5"

it shocks me how the length on the 1.5 lb bg is similar to the length of one that is barely over a pound. the heavier ones have so much more mass and width.

same goes for the lmb. i have several that take both bg pellets (optimal and am 600) and lmb pellets. they have so much more mass than the non pellet takers. unreal the difference.

When we talk about how old our fish are, how is age computed? Is it time fish have been stocked or do we count them a year old when we put the fish in the water, or some other method?

I have pondered the same thing.

If a guy is stocking 3" BG in March, they likely are approaching the 6 to 9 month mark already.

A guy stocking 1-2" BG can not expect to produce the same size fish a year later compared to someone stocking 4-5" fish, all else being equal.

There are different ways fish age is referred to which can lead to confusion. New fish (just born to less than 1 year)are called fry ,yoy, age 0 ,or fingerlings depending on when and who is describing them. Most is common approach - when a fish reaches its first birthday it is 1 and so on. I approximate there birth date when stating the age. Its not when they are stocked but born. There are scientific ways to actually age fish , even in their first year , but that is not the question here.

I'd like to add to this old post of mine, on may 12th i caught a female that weighed exactly 1.9 lbs. i am sure she had eggs, but other females we caught that day looked like they had swallowed a golf ball they were so full of eggs. she didn't have that look, just a big bodied fish. i sure do hope to break that 2 lb mark soon.

Hey Scott, even on feed males typically outpace females in growth. What I have read suggests this is amplified when sexually mature. With a female at 1.9 lbs, you likely have males over 2 lbs. Perhaps 2.5 to 3 lbs.