Away from a good lunch - why didn’t you eat it?”
LMB primarily eat BG between 10% and 25% their length. This is two standard deviations about a mean at ~ 18% their length (~95%). One standard deviation (~68%) variation about the mean ranges from ~ 16% to 20% their length. Prey of this size are both vulnerable and favorable for the energy gained. A bass will eat about 3 or more of them per day if they are available. At 3 per day, they constitute a little over 2% the weight of the LMB. If they are only eating a few a day, you will have to persevere with your observations in order to see them eat.
Honestly there were so many bass in these ponds that it’s hard to understand how a wiggle bluegill fry made it through. Yet in two years the pond went from no bluegills to a pretty hefty population. And there isn’t A lot of cover either. I’m beginning to fix that but up till now the ponds have a few weeds and that’s about it.
The numbers of BG in your pond are far less than the number of BG that have been consumed by LMB. Can you describe a little more about how you stocked the BG. Did you stock a few adults or did you stock fingerlings?
