Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations bass size

i stocked my 1/2 acre pond about 6 months ago with 250 native bluegills, 150 redears, 50 channel cats, and 7lbs of fathead minnows.my goal is to raise trophy bass.in april i am going to stock bass.i have found a place that sales 3 to 4 inch bass and 6 to 8 inch bass for about the same price.with my goal to raise trophy bass which size should i go with.i am thinking about stocking around 35.thanks for any advice in this area.

How big were the bluegills, redears, and channel cats when you put them in? Do you know how big they are now?

they were all fingerlings.i am not sure how big they are now.

One important thing is that you don't want the bass to be able to eat the 2004 stocked BG, RES, and CC. You want them to eat fatheads and the 2005 sunfish YOY which you will hopefully get (maybe that's a sure thing - it's something that's hard for this Northerner to judge for a Southern pond). If the BG, RES, and CC are all at least 4" - 5" when the bass go in, 6" - 8" bass should not be eating them. In that case, I would stock the larger bass if I were you.

35 Bass sounds good to me. It's a little higher than has been recommended for trophy bass management, but if you don't get any mortality you will be able to lower the bass density easily in a pond of only 1/2 acre.

One of the experts, especially from near you, may have better advise.

NPO,

I suggest you wait another 6 months and let the other fish get a chance to reproduce before letting bass go after them. The second and third generation will provide a great food source for the bass and the bass will grow quickly. Remember a bass can eat a fish 1/3 to 1/2 it's own length. If there is no fish that size in the pond, the bass will have a hard time.

I think you should feed the other fish as much as they will eat in a ten minute period. For every pound you feed, there is about a 1/2 pound gain in the fish (bream and cats). A bass will eat 5 to 10 pounds of fish to gain a pound. A good southern 1/2 acre pond can provide bass growth of about 40 to 50 pounds per year if the food is available. I think these numbers are correct. The math is such that 35 mature bass may eat 350 pound of fish. To supply that amount in a small pond means you have to do everything right. I suggest you purchase the basic pond management book from this site. It will give you some great information. Be sure to get some cover for the existing fish before releasing bass.

Hope this helps more than it confuses.