Bruce , with reluctance to attempt to interpret for others D. Anderson's post , this is what I think he is telling us wrt PSD IN A BALANCED POND. Please correct me if this is wrong.

 Quote:
Originally posted by Dick Anderson:
PSD is sensitive to changes in recruitment. When high recruitment lowers PSD it is an early warning to increase harvest of 8 to 12-inch bass. ... small bass do not exert the most important effect on forage. They may consume numbers but not much weight. Female bluegill in a balanced population are in good condition and spawn repeatedly. High numbers of young recruit to age one. A high mortality of age-1 and 2 bluegill is needed to reduce density and maintain growth. It is rare to find a bass population with a surplus of 12 to 15-inch fish. The most common structure is low PSD of stunted bass. With selective harvest and educated catch and release, most fish of quality size (>12 inches) are caught repeatedly.
By definition a BALANCED POND does not have to many of any size LMB , but especially not 12-15 inch LMB. It is much more common to find unbalanced LMB stunted ponds with to many 8-10 in. stunted LMB. If BG are healthy and producing normally you need small LMB to crop the BG numbers. While the function of small LMB controlling under 3in. BG numbers is important it is not the biggest foraging factor effecting the total mass (standing crop) of fish in the pond. In a balanced pond if you start to see high LMB recruitment lowering PSD then it is an early warning of LMB stunting so start thinning that size and you can manage the situation.

Here is the wow factor condensed. Not only is PSD a tool for assessing your pond population it is a very good management tool to use to avoid a LMB stunted pond. That is use it as a pro-active tool to create a better pond - not just to assess the situation. Like a map don't just use it to tell that you are lost but use it to help you get where you want without getting lost. Our collective problem is in keeping a balanced pond population.

Drs. A or W , Bill or Bob how close is this assessment?