BACKGROUND: I stocked a family friend's acre-large pond 20 minutes outside of Athens, GA. We split the cost. We stocked 65 LMB and 600 blue gill. We had wanted to stock 150 shell crackers as well, but stock was out. The guy sold us on the idea of stocking larger shell crackers in the fall...
THE PROBLEM: We paid $0.60 per bluegill as they were 3-4 inches. In reality, about 5-10 were that size. The rest were about 1.5-2 inches.
I'm afraid that stocking 150-250 "3-4 inch" (really: 1.5-2 inch) shell crackers in the fall will simply be providing expensive bass feed.
QUESTIONS:
1. Was I ripped off?
2. Can I actually find 3-4" shell crackers to stock in the fall? Or are the 2" ones the standard?
3. Can I stock the shell crackers in the fall with any hope of them surviving the fury of the bass?
4. Or... should I give up on shell crackers? If so, should I stock more blue gill?
I have more questions, but this is a start.
