I received the follow-up call from One More Cast, and it was reported that they caught around 100 bass from the pond. Can we theorize existing population based on this?? The fish were all within a few inches of each other. In my mind this effectively removes the possibility that the bass came mixed in with the baitfish load. We could feasibly miss one or two, but not this many, not a chance�
Its still a mystery. The pond started filling in Nov 2013, and it is my theory that some mature bass made it into the pond in time for the 2014 spring spawning season. If even a single pair of mature bass did spawn in spring, there could have been 1000s of fingerlings present when we introduced the baitfish in May. This would explain the absence of fathead minnows and small YOY bluegill, as well as the bass population, which appears to have hit a ceiling in a few months�
I am not sure if we will ever determine the source of this unintended introduction, but the bucket stocking theory holds most water right now�
Plan going forward may involve spring electro-shocking, we are discussing the options right now. Thanks for input everybody.
