BarryM,
IMHO, I think its too early to be greatly concerned. You have a new stocking and the BG and LMB were added to the BOW at the same time and at approximately the same lengths. What this means is that the BG you stocked grew and the LMB were unable to eat your BG stockers because the BG grew just outside the gape of your LMB throughout the season. This a good thing. But what happened is that the BG you stocked were too young to spawn when you stocked them. The males only reached a size that they might be inclined to spawn a couple of months ago. You very well may have had no BG spawns.
To venture a guess, both the LMB and BG eradicated the FHM early in the game. They harassed and consumed nest defending male FHM and eradicated them first preventing continual spawning. So it looks like the LMB ran short of fish prey as the FHM diminished and had to share invertebrates with the BG. Or perhaps if your BG got off any spawns, the LMB should be already rebounding.
Next year, IMHO, I think this what you can expect. I think the BG are in very good condition and that they will begin spawning as soon as temps permit it. I think they will spawn frequently all summer as your BOW is new and it will be your second year. I would bet the LMB have plenty to eat next year and it will be the subsequent years that finding food for them will be more complicated.
Your bass attained 11" in their first season which is much better than YOY do in a mature BOW. Next year at this time I predict they will be sporting RWs > 100. If they aren't, then I think such fault could only lie in too much LMB recruitment next year. So should you have waited for the LMB? I am not sure. There is a school of thought that how much they gain in first year sets the limit of their ultimate performance. I have to say I am somewhat skeptical of this but still there may be merit in that argument due to LMB recruitment. I do think the ultimate weights next fall will partially depend on how much LMB recruitment you get. To some degree this will depend on how many BG you initially stocked as a large number of them in 3" to 5" range will greatly inhibit LMB recruitment. If you stocked >= 1500/acre, I think the recruitment might be quite subdued and you may get 2 lbs gain (on the females) or more between now and then. If you stocked 400 or 500 BG per acre, the LMB will probably produce a very good crop of YOY and the weight gained may be less. If you stocked a low number of BG, you may need to be more aggressive culling next year's LMB recruits. In the end, I think you stand a good chance of growing these LMB to a larger size by next October than if you had waited till next year to stock them. Provided you allow few recruits and perform an appropriate cull of your original stockers, you should be OK going forward. Perhaps you might be benefitted to do a little LMB culling now focusing on only males. Each you remove is one less male guarding a nest next spring.
I think your LMB would have benefitted from a stocking of a modest number of adult BG as they would have produced large crops of YOY in the new pond environment. Any who may be stocking LMB with BG fingerlings at the same time, you may do well to consider adding a few adult BG with your fingerlings.
Last edited by jpsdad; 10/21/19 09:03 PM.
