I think several of us may have to collaborate to put such a chart together. Besides a growth chart, we probably should have a Wr chart.
The HBG I put in a few weeks after we dug our one-third acre HBG/CC pond three years ago, included 100 1-2 inch HBG, along with 25 4-inch channel cats, and 25 2-3 inch redear sunfish (of dubious parentage -- and which I wish I wouldn't have put in).
Each spring, for the past two years, I've added 100 2-3 inch HBG. Fourteen months ago I added another 25 4-inch channel cats.
I've found what I expect is serious HBG offspring recruitment -- probably with the dubious RES, or maybe just their sisters. As a consequence, I added six SMB last summer that were 5-6 inches. I had a lot more recruitment this year, and I added six LMB that were 7-9 inches.
Just this afternoon, I used a minnow trap to get about a dozen of the offspring to use as catfish bait in my other pond.
The original three-year-old 1-2 inch HBG are now 7-9 inches, but they are very thick/heavy. Far more so than my typical 7-9 inch bluegill in my other pond, which have Wr's of about 1.0. If the HBG were pure strain bluegill they would probably have Wr of 1.3 to 1.5. The second year batch are in the 5-7 inch category. They too are very husky with similar Wr's compared to pure strain bluegill. This year's batch of 2-3 HBG was put into a cage for about six weeks before releasing them into the HBG pond. They were 3-4 inches at that time. They appear to be about 3-5 inches now (less than a month later).
But, as I said above, I'm seeing a lot of recruitment. I just don't know what kind of females are frequenting the nests of the HBG males. They could be female HBG, or they could be the questionable RES.
I've got a bunch of 1 to 1-1/2 inch YOY in an aquarium to see if I can identify them. I'll post pictures in a few weeks as they get bigger.
The channel cats have grown like crazy. I may actually have to drain the pond down next spring and seine some of them out because of their aggressiveness at feeding time (I was hoping they would reduce recruitment). It would also be a good time to take out any large LMB or SMB, in case they have gotten too big. I'd move them into the BG/LMB pond. The few LMB and SMB I've recently caught in the HBG/CC pond have Wr's in the 0.7 to 0.8 range, so I'm not sure they are doing their jobs.
Anyway, I'd like to see what others are experiencing with HBG growth, and what they figure are reasonable Wr's.
Ken
Last edited by catmandoo; 07/25/14 02:47 PM. Reason: Grammar and 2nd Thoughts
