ewest, I think part of the equasion also would be the amount of cover in a pond for the forage fish to hide in. Too little and I don't know if the forage fish can keep up with predation, too much and they will make the LMB work too hard.

Like you said, it's like trying to balance on a knife edge. But, I think it's even more precise than that. Think of the knife edge on a moving vehicle, with stiff crosswinds.

You can keep a pond in relative balance, but it takes constant monitoring and knowing what to look for during those monitoring sessions.

Go on vacation for a week or two and have a flock of cormorants visit, or a family of otters and it'll slip off that knife edge in a heartbeat.

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3/4 to 1 1/4 ac pond LMB, SMB, PS, BG, RES, CC, YP, Bardello BG, (RBT & Blue Tilapia - seasonal).