My 13 acre pond (built 1959) was seriously out of balance when I bought the place 12 years ago. Liming, fertilizing and removing all boated bass seemed to have helped some, but bass growth rates were not very good (big heads, big eyes, little bodies) and the bluegill tended to be either very small or very large. I purchased and used a mechanical feeder for several years, but it seemed very wasteful, feeding geese, ducks, and turtles, and having food piling up at the shoreline on windy days. Also, the fish didn't seem to be getting any bigger. I abandoned it and it has now rusted out.
Last year, I began hand-feeding the bream by walking the shoreline at dusk (and, when it was very cloudy, during the day, as well). I don't mind the time it takes, and it is good exercise. I feed from about April 15 until the fish quit hitting the surface food in the winter. I broadcast the pellets along about 1,000 feet of shoreline, making several passes. The bluegill hit the food so hard and fast, it looks like a thunderstorm is happening behind me. I am feeding about 4 gallons of Cargill floating catfish food a day. Essentially every pellet is being eaten by fish. I should say that my real interest is catching (and eating) the bream, but I would like to also have nice-sized bass for my friends who are Bassmaster wannabes. The bluegill and readears I catch are now mostly in the � - 3/4 pound range. My buddies who bass fish in the pond are catching a good number of bass in the 2-5 lb range, but the largest so far is 8 � lbs.
My questions are several. Is the amount I am feeding likely to account for the improved fishing, or is that happenstance? Does anyone know of studies for the efficiency of conversion of pellet calories into fish flesh? I have arbitrarily decided that every 2-3 pounds of pellets converts to a pound or so of bluegill, but is there a scientifically determined estimate? Are all brands of fish food equal?
Thanks for your help,
Lou
