I agree 100% with ESSHUP.
I don't believe that small impoundments can provide adequate forage that can compete with commercial fish-based feeds.
It is like feeding your pet cat or dog a commercial feed. Having taken in many abandoned animals, I know they can survive on things lower on the feed chain. But, just how well?
It takes a pretty large fishery to provide substantial growth of any species.
A number of Pond Boss members recently travelled to Lake Erie for some incredible walleye fishing. This was a nearly dead and very polluted lake not too many years ago. It took a major effort to bring it back. It also took a lot of extreme steps.
I feel ponds are similar, but on a much smaller scale.
If you don't feed your BG, they won't grow or reproduce very well. That means that your bass won't have anything to eat. You have two options if you want to harvest bass. You can feed and treat the bluegill as VIPs who sacrifice their children. You can also supplement the the feed to the LMB by treating them like royalty -- feeding them regularly with something like Purina Aquamax LMB. In any case, you need to feed a lot of pounds of fish. It isn't going to happen with just sun and rain.
As we often say, a pond is much like a garden. It needs weed control, it needs thinning, and it needs a lot of good plant feeding, whether directly, or through the worms, nematodes, and other biological critters.
Good luck,
Ken
