I'll be watching this thread with interest... Hopefully you'll update as you go and let us know how things go. I stocked my pond 2 years ago in a similar manner as you Mitch only minus the BG. I didn't stock the BG for two reasons, first was the fact that they nibble badly on swimmers when numbers are numerous and stunted. Then also I followed recommendations here to avoid them when stocking SMB. Saying all that I really miss BG in the pond even though we have perch and RES. Stocked 900 RES and haven't caught a single one or even seen them dead or alive in 2 yrs. in spite of targeting them multiple times... The perch are fun to catch and as they continue to grow are getting better and better, but they just aren't the same as fishing for big BG on the beds that I caught when I was a kid.
Our pond is 3 1/2 ac so Im sure that would make the control of the BG even tougher to handle long term. So far there is very little weedy cover in our pond as it is steep banked so I wonder if in this type environment if the SMB and HSB could better control the BG.
Whats your take on this Yolk? Things are really going well so far, the predators are growing nicely and there seems to be quite a bit of forage especially GSH available. But with the lack of cover I wonder just how long the prey can survive as the SMB seem to be hammering them almost nonstop. With this in mind Ive been looking forward trying to make plans so we can continue to keep plenty of food in front of the bass.
Options Ive been pondering are adding BG or digging a decent sized forage pond and raising forage to supplement the large pond.
Last edited by JamieE; 11/01/16 06:54 AM.
