Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Gizzard shad possible?

Many first stocked fish into a clean system exhibit a tremendous growth rate.

Cody Note: This again proves that many anglers are not good at identifying some of the less common fish species. Notice how big of a morsel the shiner attempted to eat. Shiners eat a lot of food and often sizable food items which in the spring some of it can be fish fry. The tremendous growth rate of newly stocked waters is usually due to two main things. 1. the new pond's blooming food web which is flourishing on numerous trophic levels. In post stocking situations sometimes a specific food item is not being eaten by other fish species which amounts to lots and lots of available food for the newly introduced fish species. 2. The new pond does not have heavy food consuming competition from several year classes of fish reproduction thus abundant food is more available to fewer fish than any other time in the pond's history. When competition increases food becomes less and growth rates slow down.