Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations adding bass

if i were to add fingerling bass to a 4 1/2 acre pond that is 3 years old what percent would probably make it.i was told i should add some bass,my numbers were a little low.in louisiana you cannot buy mature bass,so i have to go with fingerlings.i was thinking about buying 50-100 bass,do you think i would have any gain with these numbers?,are should i add more?

Lee, Not real sure what you mean by fingerling. That could go from crappie minnow size to 3 or 4 inches. The mortality rate for small fish is huge. However, if you are short on bass, you might get more survival. Hard to say. Who told you that you needed more? Is there an alternative to buying from a Louisiana supplier?

dave, i had my pond shocked last week and they said i was a little short on bass.i'm having a real hard time with the company that did the work,the info. they are giving me is not the same as i get from this web site.the bass that i put in the lake when i built it were about 3 inches long,so now i'm wondering what happens if i add bass 3 inches long to a lake 3 years old.i have not been able to find a supplier that would ship larger bass to louisiana.thanks

lee,
You might try growing them out in cages. jbrockey has done this with very good success. He's in your area also. Search Questions & Obs. or maybe he'll respond.

Lee, Bass usually get over protected and thus over populate. I think I would ask what a little short on bass means.

Usually, less bass means less competition for food and thus larger bass. However, it could also mean too many forage fish causing a biomass problem. What did they say about your forage base? Are they talking about a predator shortage? Why don't you post their report here and see if some pro's will give their opinion.

lee, ric is correct. i've had very good success raising bass in cages. look back to my posts on the subject. small pellet trained bass are usually neither hard to find nor very expensive, especially when compared to finding and purchasing bass large enough to escape predation in a three year old pond. i will be using this method each year to introduce new genetics into my pond. i have also added bluegill and channel cats using cages to grow them out. putting fingerlings into established ponds proved to me to be an expensive snack. raising fish in cages was less expensive, quite enjoyable, and i knew exactly how many survived and grew. btw, i had less than 10% mortality with any of the species that i grew out. good luck, jb