Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Proper balance of bluegill to largemouth?

How many lbs. of bluegill should there be in a 10 acre plus size lake to how many lbs. of largemouth bass per acre if the goal is a healthy bass fishery?

I know this may not be a simple answer - but a general rule of thumb one?

Depending on your goals or how you define a healthy bass fishery anywhere from 10 BG : 1 LMB ratio to higher rates of 30-50 BG : 1 LMB. Not exactly sure how that translates into pounds.

"Healthy Fishery" - one that forage and predator (bass only one in the fishery) are of high RW's and abundant in all size classes.

1 lb. of 2 - 3" = 15 - 20 bluegill.

Per my understanding, a largemouth consumes 10 lbs. of forage per 1 lb. of bass weight annually.

So a 1 lb. bass consumes 150 - 200 bluegill per year.

10:1 is a ratio used in stocking fingerling bass to bluegill, but I do not see any data on numbers within a fishery.

My question is in an established fishery you would need how many bluegill per largemouth approximately to maintain a healthy fishery?

Thanks.

There is the old standard average pond ratio of 10:1, but for above average bass to trophy bass you need closer to 30:1 or 40:1. THose are fish numbers not pounds of fish.

75% of carrying capacity in forage and no more than 25% in predators for rough balance with LMB and BG. More forage would be better if large LMB is the goal.

What is considered "typical" carrying capacity in lbs. of forage and largemouth for a un-supplemental fed and balanced fishery in a 10 plus acre lake?

It varies a lot depending on productivity of the land/water (how fertile). It can be from 100 lbs to 2000 lbs. Typical 400 Lbs. per acre of which 300 in BG and 100 in LMB.

Is 250 - 300 lbs. of all fish per acre a good rule of thumb to work with?

So in this case 25% / 75 lbs. of bass per acre and 75% / 225 lbs. of forage per acre.

Correct? With these numbers one can develop a fisheries plan based on the goals of the fishery of say numbers of bass and size(s). Either have more smaller weights with more of them (bass or bluegill) or less and heavier bass or a mix. This then allows one to develop a slot limit and take or additional stockings of forage to maintain the fishery one wants.

Your thoughts?

Another consideration is the size of the forage. Predators, like, bass, need forage/prey that is 1/4 to 1/3 their body size. It’s a matter of calories obtained vs energy expended. So, a “large” predator could actually starve on catching and eating small minnows.

Thanks all!

Yes that is an average but may not work for your water. Your water could be more productive than that. Your thought process is sound as to the basic management type actions. Keep in mind that all waters are dynamic and constantly changing as to fish. So you have to change and adapt to the situation.

Generally, the clarity, as in greenish hue of the water, gives a good indication of how many pounds of fish per acre this water body is supporting. Clearer the visibility of water the fewer the pounds of fish per acre on the natural spectrum of 100 to 500 to rarely natural 1000 lbs/ac in very fertile situations (2000 is very rare in sport fish ponds). In very clear trout type water there may only be a total forage and predator of 50 lbs/ac. As mentioned by DD1 in normal waters there are a lot more numbers of smaller fish compared to large fish. As a group or year class of fish age their numbers diminish until when they are near end of life only a few or less than one per acre remain.