Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Ohio LMB 2005 Spawn Size

This is a question primarily for Midwest Pondmeisters - Ohio, PA, Indiana, KY, Michigan, etc.

My Son and I did four seine hauls today, and we were delighted to find that our LMB, which have been in the pond for 2 years, have had their first successful spawn. All the LMB fingerlings that we found were about 2.5" - none as short as 2", none as long as 3" (very consistant, especially contrasted with the large variation in BG/RES 2004/2005 YOY sizes).

Given that it's a week before the end of July, do you think that this is typical of what size this year's LMB YOY should be, or do you think we caught the small ones and there are some bigger ones that swam too fast for a couple uncoordinated guys sliding around in the mud to seine out?

I am in south western New York. Your YOY bass numbers sound about right to me. Mine appear to be from 1.5 to 3.5" and everything in between.

Close enough for government work. Thanks, Jayman.

Theo :

Great question . Are your adult LMB all the same age ? I read recently that the bass spawn is such that the bigger dominant bass often spawn first and that their offspring have a greater chance of survival . I don't know if this is true or not. It seems if all your fish spawned at the same time and were the same size that most all of your yoy would tend to be in a close size range as you report. I am not in the mid-west, our adult LMB are all sizes and our yoy are clearly different sizes and ages. The range as of 2 weeks ago 2-4 inches + or - . BG yoy because of multi. spawns are from microscopic to 2.5 in.

With 4 hauls I bet you got a good survey. ewest

ewest:

All our LMB went in in May 2003 as 3"-4" fingerlings. Sizes ranged from 11" TO 16" this Spring.

I intend to do more seining this Summer (maybe every month or so), so I should get more data points. If I keep catching only one size, that gets bigger as they grow, I'll figure they all popped out at once. Of course, they will start to vary in size at some point due to differences iin aggressiveness and plain luck.

I'm just so glad to see baby LMB finally show up. I was a little concerned while we were in the water to get only 5-6 LMB vs 200 or 300 BG/RES, but upon reflection, that seems to be about a normal predator/prey ratio.

Being from Ohio also, I would say these sizes sound very reasonable. Remember, these little guys grow extremely fast under the right environments. Make sure your water is fertilized and there is a good forage base. Good luck.