Mark, if you're harvesting 1,200 small LMB a year, that's a lot! Even so, sounds like the lake is getting bass crowded. Unless you can recruit more anglers to help harvest, the problem will likely only get worse. I'm definitely not an expert, but the usual calculation is 25 to 30 lb of LMB taken out per acre. In a 130 acre lake, that would be 3,000 to 4,000.
Electro harvesting would likely be necessary to reach those numbers. Also you could look at predators which may help keep LMB & crappie in check but wouldn't risk taking over. Hybrid stripers come to mind, especially for crappie control, as do tiger muskies if they can survive your summers. Tiger muskies did a good job of LMB control in a private club lake I used to fish in Ohio.
Last edited by anthropic; 03/13/21 12:21 PM.
