Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations fatheads and golden shinners?

Golden Shiners will definitely survive at Baltimore. I'm about 10 minutes North of you (south of Granville, west of Newark) and I have a pond full of GS. They currently comprise more of the biomass in my pond than anything else (maybe everything else put together), and I hope my 12" to 15" LMB and 3 to 6 lbs Channel Cats will continue to significantly beat down the GS numbers this year.

Do you need them? As you often hear at this forum, "it all depends on your goals." I personally attribute this saying to Greg Grimes, but have seen it many times, and it's always true.

If you want a "trophy" LMB pond, the GS may be just what you need. Us Ahians are too far north for Threadfin or Tilapia; I think GS can be a useful forage species for LMB here. They're prolific, torpedo-form, and large enough to make big meals for big bass. But consider all the caveats that go with them: "they're egg stealers, they get too big for LMB to eat, all the older females are sterile due to the ovarian parasite, so they don't produce enough forage." I can't tell you how much credence you should give to these (have only had my pond and GS since 2002), but consider them. They do seem to hang out in the open water where the LMB are less comfortable hunting. I have considered adding HSB, which are supposed to be more of an open water hunter, to help control the GS. I will probably do so in the future if my GS numbers remain higher than I want.

If you want a general fishing pond, to catch nice BG, RES, HBG, and Cats, with the LMB providing control for BG numbers as well as lots of aggressive small bass to catch - you don't need GS and I don't think you want them.

As to your Bass size, after one growing season (June to November 2003), the 3" LMB we stocked had grown to 7" to 12", with most in the 8" to 10" range. I would say your results are pretty equivalent. Based on my experience, you should see them grow another 3" to 4" in 2005.