The window closes when the bass get big enough to wipe out the small BG as an easy snack.
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Since you stocked tiny bass, 1-1.5 inch bluegills(cheap) should suffice at this time. The BG will spawn at 3.5-4 inches to keep the forage base going. If you wait until the bass get any bigger, they will be a quick snack.
Bass need food that is 1/4 to 1/3 their body size. And the bass need 10 pounds of forage(BG) to gain one pound. That's a lot of groceries.
95%, or more, fish that spawn will never grow big enough to reach sexual maturity. All small fish are groceries to everything bigger.
After the 2nd year, cull every bass that you catch under 13 inches to keep them from over eating the food supply and stunting. Don't worry; it will be dang tough to catch too many of them. Catch and release and too small to keep works great on public lakes but not in private ponds.
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BTW, congrats on getting the Masters. What major?
Thanks! I got my masters in social studies education. I've been subbing this spring and will have a position as a high school teacher in the fall.
As for the stocking, how big do you think the LMB will get by the fall? I know it's an inexact science given the multitude of variables, but I'm unsure as to how big they're going to be then. If the bass will only be five or so inches after four months of growth, then the two inch bream should be fine.
