ML
A pond managed by the State near me has unitenasoinly run a similar experiment. They stocked a 5-acre pond with BG and LMB and made it catch and release only. The first four years things went ok with lots of small/medium sized bass, so catch rates were good but size was not. The State also stocks broke trout in the pond in the fall and several times in the spring. A few privet organizations are allowed to stock Rainbow/Bookies for Kids fishing derby�s 2 or 3 times a year. For the first four years there were no Bass large enough to take advantage of the trout. Then bang! The largest bass reported jumped from three pounds to six pounds in a year. Catch rates have dropped with is too bad since it is a public pond aimed at youth, handicapped, and Sr. fishing. However some lucky kid now has a shot at catching a trophy fish.
The trout are put and take so this year there is plans to try and monitor how many go in versus how many are taken out by anglers. There will be no way to get exact numbers but it might give a idea of what percentage of stocked trout are falling victim to bucket mouths.
