Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations LMB super reproduction

Can you upload some pictures of your LMB? I would like to see their body condition.

Also lengths AND weights for a few LMB will help decide how to manage the population.

Hi Bocomo, here we go.
Thank you for your interest.
The following pics are of LMB catched today near the fingerlings (so I suppose they are males?). They don't seem stunted to me for now.
They are all between 15-17" and 2.5-3.3 lb.
I've also seen others of the same size, someone bigger, thousands 1" fingerlings, dozens of 4" and 8" size.
The biggest I've caught last year was 19.5" and 4.4 lb.
Keep in mind these are italian LMB, they will never grow like US LMB. In Italy the record is 9 lb but there are less than 10 in all the state. Big ones here are in the 5.5-6.6 lb range.

Filippo,
Those are great looking bass, even by American standards. I posted your relative weights below based on the numbers you gave. First 2 listed are at the low end of your weight scale, next 2 based on the high end, and the last your 19.5". Nice job, take care.

Length----Weight---Std Wt----R/W
15.00------2.50------1.83------136.47%
17.00------2.50------2.73------91.53%
15.00------3.30------1.83------180.14%
17.00------3.30------2.73------120.82%
19.50------4.40------4.23------103.98%

Ben

**Note: These are standard weights based on research in the U.S. so not sure how they translate to another part of the world. You may be looking at even higher R/W in Europe.**

Thank you Ben,
my pond is going still good then. I'm very happy to hear it.
I don't think LMB stardard weights here would be higher than in the US.
I fish LMB from the '90s and I've never caught one bigger than 22" and 6.4 lb. And I've fish them all around Italy (including islands). I've only heard about some at 9 lb, but they are more rare than diamonds.

PS today I've stocked about 1000 Pseudorasbora, 100 PS and 100 crawfish.
Enjoy your meal guys!

To me, the fish that does NOT have the cutout in the dorsal fin is a bit underweight. I would have removed that one to leave more food for the other, faster growing fish. Or, it's just the camera angle that makes it head seem slightly out of proportion to its body.

I was looking up what a pseudorasbora was (you mentioned today you stocked some today) and wondered if the mystery fish in your picture above might be one of those. I searched some images online and found this image that shows that a male in spawning colors turns dark. I assumed you put the pseudorasbora in your pond before if you are restocking them now? So maybe the picture you have above is a male pseudorasbora parva in spawning colors? Or if not that exact one, maybe it is one of the fish you already know are in the pond, but in spawning colors?

See 2nd picture down on this page (colored male from China)

Pseudorasbora parva

Oops, I just realized I missed a post a while back. I guess Italybass already felt he had identified the minnow and therefore when he stocked some more in his pond he used their specific name. I, not realizing he had done this, was working backwards from the name to see how well they matched the pictures online and in his post. It appears you get to the same answer no matter which way you do it


and... I learned it is an invasive species!

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Invasive species
The fish was introduced in the 1960s into ponds in Nucet, D�mboviţa County, Romania and it made its way into Danube, then spreading throughout Europe. They pose danger to other species such as the sunbleaks (Leucaspius delineatus). They are the carrier of a parasite (Sphaerothecum destruens) that is not damaging to the topmouth gudgeon, but attacks other fishes like the sunbleaks, which are unable to spawn and have a higher mortality when infected. They also feed on eggs of locally valuable native fish species.

The species has also been recently discovered in several lakes in the UK where it is believed to have been illegally stocked.This has called for a large scale eradication program organised by the Environment Agency who kill the fish off with a piscicide called rotenone.

---------------

Either way, glad you know what they are and that they are good forage for your LMB!

Hi esshup,
the sure thing is the pics have been taken quikly and badly because a thunderstorm was coming. A pic of a LMB took from above make it seems like a cone with a bigger head and a skinny body (that's why all the pros take pics of their catches from below. In this case the fish looks like fatter instead).
However, I don't understand what you mean with "the cutout in the dorsal fin". Can you post a pic of it? I would really appreciate it.
Thank you




Hi canyoncreek,
last time I've stocked Pseudorasbora for the first time because a friend of mine has his pond (no predator inside) full of them and because I read they are good forage for LMB.
The black colored one in the pic is a male spawning Pseudorasbora indeed.
I know it's an invasive species but here is almost everywhere in public waters my LMB won't let them invade my pond. I think it's something like your FHM, lot of reproduction and a good protein source for bass.
Now my LMB have 8 different kind of forage fish/craw and forage fish/craw have an automatic feeder full of 40% protein pellet (I finally got the moultrie feeder too).
They should be grateful to me and very happy to bite my baits too