Originally posted by Theo Gallus:
I don't know what the pond's sustainable yield will be, but plan on approaching that harvest level carefully, removing conservative numbers of predator fish and leaving the largest BG (especially males) in the pond while culling smaller BG. Hopefully the size of a "smaller" BG will continue to increase in the future. Trying to get a rough idea from literature, one might guesstimate that an acre could produce on the order of 100 lbs of BG per year; I am just now realizing that 100 lbs is a whole lot of nice, fat 7" BG! 
Life is good. Any other fish ranchers out there? Theo,
I don't know about being a rancher -- I think I'm maybe more like a critter sitter.
But, I'd very interested in comparing notes at the end of the season. I too am trying to figure out what my pond can sustain. So far this season, things are real close to the way I want them. My pond is only a half acre, but I figure I'll pull between 75 and 100 fat bluegill over the period of approximately April 1 to November 1.
As long as my average bluegill size numbers continue to stay the same, or get slightly larger, I figure I'm OK. I see lots of smaller ones when I feed.
So far this season, 25 of 41 released bluegill have been between 8 and 10 inches. Most were males, but I've been throwing back some of the really big females.
Of those we kept, 13 of the 19 were 8-9 inches, nearly all female. The remaining six I kept were 6 to 7 inches. My wife and I are able to make a decent meal out of just two or three of these critters.
In April and early May I removed eleven bass between 8 and 10 inches. I've thrown back 12 that were over 10 inches -- including one 18 incher. I'll re-evaluate the bass in late summer.
Most of the big cats are gone -- just four medium-to-large left. They'll go in the next couple of weeks when my buddy Capt'n Ahab returns with his harpoon and fancy recurv bow. Getting so many of the big cats out, plus two of the four grass carp moochers, seems to have really helped stabilize my pond. This season when I clean the BG, they are full of fish food.
I accidentally released 25 4-5 inch catfish last Friday -- but that's a whole 'nother story. Hopefully a few will survive to a reasonable size, and be dumb enough to get caught before they become problems.
Good fishn'
Ken G.
