I'm nearing the end of my tether re LMB. Stocked aggressive Northern strain and supposedly elite Lone Star Legacy Florida strain. Fed and fed for years, in rough terrain & rougher weather. Fertilized, ag limed. Placed both natural and artificial structure for fish. When low BG reproduction survival, had pond plants installed to give shelter for their YOY. Bought and installed floating islands to improve periphyton production. Added PK shrimp to boost panfish numbers for bass forage. Stocked FHM to feed little bass, golden shiners and TFS to feed medium sized, BG, RES, CNBG for all sizes. Culled over 200 LMB one year (though only 80 so far this year) Stocked small forage sized rainbow trout. Stocked TP almost every year. Even had a forage pond built for CNBG reproduction which were placed in main BOW.
And yet while every other fish at my place has done great, from hybrid stripers to tilapia, trout, and panfish, the one constant is the failure to achieve good relative weight lunker bass. Hasn't happened, and I fear it never will. Every time I have a survey, no matter what I've done, the same results come back. Perhaps some ponds just aren't suitable for growing big LMB, regardless.
Maybe I should stock alligator gar. Sigh.
Anybody else who's shifted gears away from LMB? What was your experience?
Last edited by anthropic; 05/21/20 04:26 AM.
