Good info from Bill Cody, as always. I have a couple of tidbits to add on pumpkinseeds (PKS) and smallmouth bass. First, I believe pondmeisters should think of PKS as a prey species, not so much a sport fish. So, this is not like the LMB-BLG combination where production of big bluegills is one possible management strategy. First of all, PKS don't have as large a maximum size as BLG. An 8 inch PKS is a big one. Second, in that Schreck article/study that Bill mentioned, the PKS really became overabundant. That gravel pit was full of small PKS, which of course provided prey for SMB but not really any angling opportunity. We did move adult PKS into another pond a couple of years ago. It is about 7 acres and has SMB as the predator. It's probably too soon to really evaluate what will happen there after only 2 years. However, this summer, the PKS were about 6 inches and really pretty! The kids and grandkids had a ball catching them while some of the adults fished for the SMB. So, the PKS were big enough to catch, but not really big enough to fillet. :-) The longer term question will be if the PKS continue to become more abundant, and then have an even smaller maximum size. We'll need a couple more years of watching this pond.
