Jimmy, I would skip the northern-strain bluegill and bass; there's no reason at all to stock them where you live. Coppernose grow faster and get larger, as do F-1 LMB. All of the huge bluegill that have been caught in CA in the past few years are coppernose. Also, the huge 'gills coming out of the Richmond Mill Lake (Kingfisher Society, Bob Lusk consulted on the lake) are coppernose. They're a great fish, really beautiful, and they eat pellet food very aggressively from everything I've read, and grow very large. I would stock them only as far as a sunfish species. And definitely get them from Greg - it might be cheaper for both of us that way! As far as the F-1 LMB, I've read on here multiple accounts of multiple ponds in the South in which F-1 bass are reaching ten pounds in three years. Three years. A northern-strain LMB is doing well to reach that size in eight or ten years.
If I understand correctly there are no fish in that pond right now, is that right, Jimmy? If there were GSF in there, Greg's idea to stock more bluegill would be a valuable one, to be sure. But if that pond is pristine at the moment, you'll get faster growth and a much better top end from stocking no more than 125 CNBG, or fewer than that if you stock 4-5" fish.
Also, I read your other thread, and my thought on that is, you can stock the F-1 bass on the heavy side in the smaller pond now, and that will not only give you faster CNBG growth, but you'll be able to take a few out of there each year for your other pond without harming the balance. But if you do want the biggest 'gills possible, always keep the bass crowded in there. If you can catch bass from anywhere in the pond, it's crowded, and your bluegill are happy (the ones that don't get munched that is).
