Are bluegill better to use in a pond that you want to be self regulating for populations? I prefer to catch crappie rather than the gills, but I had a pond with gills LMB and crappie in and I had a big crappie spawn followed by a spring die off of fish, including the larger LMB, then within two years the pond was totally stunted with hundreds of BCP... I assume I could have increased my LMB numbers and that may have pulled my crappie numbers back to where they wouldn't starve to death, but I wasn't actively managing my pond to realize the bass were gone until it was too late... Drought has forced me to start over, so I'm wondering what would be the best mix for a small approximately .5 acre pond? I do like CC and SMB would either be good to add to the mix? Thanks J
The thing about BCP is that they are unpredictable spawners. One year they might have a huge spawn, and the next year they may not spawn at all. If cold fronts keep coming in every time they go to spawn, they'll retreat to the depths and try again later. If they don't get a spawn off in that limited 3-4 week time frame, they'll just absorb their eggs. In a .5 acre pond, I know most people wouldn't recommend to have BCP. Hell, most people would probably not recommend to even have LMB in anything smaller than an acre or two, just because you can only have so many pounds of them before they get crowded and stunt.
You mention that you like CC, so maybe a CC/BCP combination would work (if you wouldn't mind dropping the bass). If you want to keep the bass, BG are a must.
