Not true. I have about 1/2 acre (out of 60 acres) in front of my dock that I have absolutely stuffed with xmas trees, old trees, pvc you name it. I feed off my dock twice a day and there are hundreds of 2-9 inch bluegills swimming around, yet no bass of any size. Hook on a 2-3 inch bluegill let him swim around and nothing not even a look from a bass, go use electronics over center of pit and there are bass suspended all over the place following shad. I don't believe bass feed on bluegill and stay shallow to feed on them all year. Why do bluegills stunt on shad lakes even when you feed bluegills???? Lack of predation by bass is my theory. The gizzard shad do not get to 20" in my lake the big ones are like 6-9 inches long which I know a 15-18" bass can eat. Given 2" gizzard shad by the thousands or spiny bluegills bass are gonna key in on the shad all day long until it's gone.
It would be interesting to have a gill net survey done on your BOW to see what size GS are there. If you see GS spawning in shallow water, what size are they? I'll bet that they are larger than 6"-9".
Bluegills stunt because there isn't enough food for the mouths available to eat that food. That's the bottom line. Why there isn't enough food available will take more time to type than I have to answer. Could it be because the GS are removing a lot of the lower end of the food chain before the food gets large enough for the BG to thrive on it? LMB are opportunistic feeders, they will naturally eat the most prevalent forage. If you had a lot of BG in the lake and the LMB are accustomed to feeding on them, then the LMB would be shallow. If you have a high population of GS in the lake with limited amount of BG, then the LMB will be keying in on the GS.
LMB grow best on food that is 1/4 to 1/3 their body size, or up to 1/2 their body size for more fusiform fish. Having a 15" LMB chasing around a bunch of 2" GS is like you trying to put on weight by walking 20' to pick up a piece of popcorn, then another 20' to get another piece. Too many calories expended per amount of calories eaten per mouthful.
LMB can eat GS that are up to approximately 1/2 it's body length. GS can grow 7" or more in the first year of their life in fertile waters. So, in Northern waters, at most a LMB can utilize GS for the first 2 years of the GS life. Then it grows too large for the LMB to eat, and takes up biomass in the BOW.
What size LMB are in the BOW now? What is their RW? If the GS make up a large population in the BOW, and they have a failed spawn, then where will the LMB get food to eat the rest of the year? GS spawn once per year, BG spawn multiple times, usually every month right around a full moon when water temps are above 70�. Having BG as a forage base helps ensure that LMB don't go a year (or more) without enough forage to thrive if a months spawn fails like what could happen if GS are the primary forage fish in the BOW.
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