Originally posted by ewest: If you want a balanced LMB/lepomis pond GSF are not the best choice. GSF take up carrying capacity like a BG (size/weight) but are much less productive as forage. By far in the south the most common problem in pond fish populations is stunted LMB (8-12 in) due partly to not enough forage even when stocked with BG.
What Ewest describes here is exactly what I found in my pond when I purchased the property. I had a 3 acre pond with stunted LMB, numerous GSF and a couple (well five that I know of) catfish. But the GSF were simply not producing enough forage for the LMB. Since there was lots of vegetation in the pond the GSF had plenty of places to hide and multiply and not get eaten.
I personally like the GSF, they fight like a fish twice their size and they are IMHO one of the most beautiful of the sunfish. But just not adequate for LMB forage. In March I added BG and RES - I have no idea how this will work in the long run - time will tell. Since I don't live at the property this will be an unmanaged/unscientific/unprofessional/uninhibited/unnatural/unemcumbered/uncola experiment. And that's all I have to say about that.
JHAP ~~~~~~~~~~ "My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives." ...Hedley Lamarr (that's Hedley not Hedy)
