I figure a lot of those fish are lost causes anyway. Might as well keep whatever grew well and take out the rest. Those culled fish are behind in growth anyway and might never get caught up. I had a similar sized pond, and the entire pond was stunted LMB. I practically wanted to start from scratch and over with a new class that had max forage from the start. Way better chance of managing fish for growth if you start off right. The start over new class is averaging anywhere from 1/2 to 1 lb more at same length, and way earlier in life. These fish, although maybe slightly less in overall numbers show way more realized growth. Plus my overall carry capacity is divided among a lower number of bigger fish. And when the seasonal drawdown hits, the forage fish lose thier cover and it goes down even more. In my experience, once you get to that overpopulated underfed status, you cannot be too aggressive. He pretty much tells that story already with his culling that showed no results. Plus, it gives the forage a chance to build up. Bigger individual fish with more to eat and larger forage to eat.
Last edited by The Pond Frog; 07/05/10 05:14 PM.
