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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16 |
I'm getting my minnows and BG's next week. How long does it take for them to spawn? Will I be able to put the LMB in at the end of May ?
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 14,300 Likes: 450
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame 2014  Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 14,300 Likes: 450 |
In lieu of other answers, the strongest recommendation (in a general sense) is to wait a whole year to let the forage base get super established.
At a minimum, you may want to wait for late summer to stock LMB. Many have expressed concerns that the LMB that you would get from a hatchery in the fall would already be several months old, and maybe stunted. Hence another reason to wait til the following spring.
Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:"
"She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 55
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 55 |
I stocked my 1 1/2ac pond with fatheads when the water hit 5ft in mid March 2 years ago. I added shiners in early April only due to saving money after my building expense. Bass, hyb. gills,cats and crappie came in late July. I add fatheads and shiners (more shiners than fatheads)every spring and fall. The reason for the shiners more than fatheads is due to me trying to get big LMB. Anywhere you look around my cover, dock and bank grass you will find thousands? of small feeder fish. If you have cover and spend the money on feeders I feel you can start right away on stocking you fish. No matter what you decide you must replenish the food chain if you don`t want to waite.
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,555 Likes: 411
Moderator Lunker
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Moderator Lunker
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,555 Likes: 411 |
I agree with Sunil on the LMB. I would wait until the following Spring. As goes the forage base, so goes the predators.
Blue gills can be sexually mature at 4 inches; sometimes a little smaller. The question is size being stocked and your location. Up North, they won't get much chance to grow for awhile yet. Fatheads are about the same. Health/condition of the water and automatic feeder(s) will also make a difference on growth rates.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP Grandpa
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Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 1,285 Likes: 1
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 1,285 Likes: 1 |
I added bluegills to my pond shortly after being built in October of 2003 followed by structure and 10lbs of fatheads in March of 2004. Fed pellets. Bluegills spawned and the fatheads reproduced like crazy. I added LM Bass in late August of 2004. The bass are fat and healthy. No regrets on waiting.
 "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." Stephen W. Hawking
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