Waymon Neal :

Cecil is right you can replace a fert. program with feeding and shading. I am looking into that option on one of our ponds. There are a few things to consider.

What type of pond water level mgt. system are you using {standpipe , spillway etc.}? Without going into detail it should allow normal water flow to exit the pond with out losing the top 3 feet of water in the pond. Your normal flow should come from 5 feet deep and exit through a flow through pipe or siphon. With such a system we do not loose our bloom even with heavy rain and running springs even with a large watershed.

With this system we don't spend a lot on fert. and lime { about $ 750 a year combined on a 6 acre lake with flow through}. This leads me to the cost question. In this lake it will cost us 3 times as much to feed as to fert & lime and that does not include the cost of dye. To replace fert. with feed you will have to feed more and for a longer period. Based on your location 40+- miles from Gulf of Mexico you have a long growing season . I would guess 8-9 mths out of the year. Do you intend to feed the entire growing season? I question if you can replace fert. with feed and only feed during summer. I think you will have to feed a least as long as your fert program was {? March- Sept.}.

From the info I have seen in this area an unfert. unfed pond produces about 100lbs of fish per acre, a fert. pond about 300 lbs and a fed pond about 200 lbs. If both are used about 400 lbs. I do not know if these ratios help in determining how much you will have to feed to replace fert.

I assume you have a bass/BG pond and want a balanced population. If so you should consider what effect feeding BG with feeders will have on the catchability of your bass especialy if they are florida's. Many people {not me} both on and off this fourm have very strong opinions on this matter.

The prior manager of our ponds used a fert. program for 5 years with good results and then stopped . The stoppage destroyed the food chain and with it the fish populatin went in the tank. Because we did not want to kill the ponds and start over it has taken a long time to recover. Any decision which could have that possible effect should be examined closely.Good luck . ewest