My BH population is dropping, I believe from LMB. I was on the ice with a camera yesterday and saw small schools of maybe 5 or 6 BH in the 6 to 7 inch range. About half the time they were followed by LMB in the 12 to 15 inch range. I did not witness any predation but the BH clearly kept their distance and darted when the LMB got too close. I did not see any smaller BH and in previous years they were common. I'm not certain the 12 to 15 inch LMB are taking the 6" to 7" BH, but I have seen the bait balls of fry get eaten. The LMB could have been following other panfish which were in shallower weedy water but chose to be following the BH on the bottom in more open 10 foot deep water. If I get lucky and see it happen I'll post it. I support adding LMB.
