Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Needing some advice about BG and RES.

I have both HBG and male (mostly)BG in one pond, and northern BG in the others. In my opinion HBG are a niche fish, which will have the best chance of reaching their full potential when utilized in a setting that caters to them. That doesn't mean they won't grow large in a typical "balanced" pond scenario, but I don't think you will see numbers of above average, outstanding hybrids if you're using one BOW to try and fulfill multiple goals, species wise.

HBG will outgrow native BG, at least mine do, for the first couple years. They really come out of the gate strong. Ultimate size potential belongs to the BG, either northern or coppernose. Their larger mouth gape allows them to utilize larger forage, and they are both predatory and opportunistic. They also fight much harder than a comparably sized BG. First gen hybrids are heavily male biased, which can be either good or bad depending upon your goals. If you're worried about the chances of BG overrunning your pond and stunting, then HBG might be a good fit. If you need a source of forage for your bass, I can almost guarantee you will be disappointed with hybrids.

Small HBG, like small BG, will bite sedentary swimmers. Both will "outgrow" this tendency. HBG are very often touted as a good kids fish, with the explanation they are always willing to bite a hook. They can certainly be aggressive, but never doubt that they can become hookshy and wary, especially in low density, heavily pressured environments where catch and release is the order of the day.