Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Seriously considering full do over.

HBG can serve as a good companion panfish species for SMB, YP, HSB...in fact, it would probably be my second choice of panfish along side RES for a fishery featuring these species.

Your HSB, YP, and SMB should begin managing the HBG population through predation - mine have successfully controlled the BG following several years of management practices including trapping and angling. HBG are 97% male, so recruitment shouldn't serve as nearly the issue as my BG population. I personally feel you are jumping the gun here - allow your YP, SMB and HSB time to grow, gape will increase, and once those fish get over the proverbially hump in gape allowance you'll see significant impacts on your HBG population and growth/health of your apex predators - they should be pigs.

If those apex predators can control my BG population, they certainly should be able to handle your HBG population. My advice is to give it time, ladder stock those HSB, and if you are pellet feeding maybe hold off a while to add pressure to the HBG population through predation. That method has worked for Shawn Banks and myself.