Just got back from my pond up in washington. I ordered twenty five adult and 100 juvenile 1 - 3 inch blue gill to suplement my pond forage before I add bass. I planned to let them have a year to establish themselves before adding predators. Well I let them all go this last Sunday. Returned on tuesday to see how they are doing and to my suprise, saw several bass 8 - 10 inches. Well I went back the next day and along with a few 8 - 10 inch bass I saw a Hawg between 4 - 5 pounds!
This got me real excited but then it hit me that most of my small bluegill probably became a quick snack for the population of bass that I had no idea where already in my pond.
I am stoked to have some monsters swimming in my pond, but will I have to add more adult bluegill in an effort to keep them healthy? I wonder what the bass were feeding on before I added BG's? There are sticklebacks, newts, tadpoles, insects and frogs in this pond. I've seen no sign of any other forage base than what I've mentioned. The bass all looked pretty fat and healthy but that was a few days after the bluegill!? Any comments? Or suggestions?
The water is now 64 degrees. Do you think the adult BG's will start to spawn soon? Seems the bass are starting to think about it. What temp do these fish usually start to build beds in the north?
Thanks for your help!
