Cardell,

I would wait until at least the first spawn is over. In your area, that should be pretty soon. After you notice that the big males are no longer on the nests, you can start.

When you say the bluegill are "nice size" -- keep a record of how long they are. When you do start to harvest, try to leave all the males that are at least an inch shorter than the biggest fish you are regularly catching. With a 1/3-acre pond, and with the feeding/fertilizing you are doing, I'd say you can safely start to take several a week for the rest of the season. The bass should start to do their job this season.

Many of us keep records of everything we catch in our ponds, whether we keep the fish, or throw them back. If you see that you have an over abundance of one size fish, then it is time to react. Particularly with bluegill, if you see a decline in the size of the fish you are pulling in, it is time to slow down the harvest. With what you are doing, you should easily be able to attain a good population of bluegill that are at least 9-10 inches, and you can take out most of the eating size fish smaller than that. We find that the filets from two to three 7-8 inch bluegill per person provides a good meal.

Good fishin',
Ken

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