Langster,
With a goal of big bream and lots of bass I think 300 BG/300 RES is neither too many nor too few. I would lean more towards a small increase in the number of bass. A general rule of thumb for balanced reproduction is 100 LMB 400 BG and 150 RES. This tends to provide multiple years where panfish are capable of growing >8" and LMB are capable of growing > 1 lb. This combination is manageable by harvest. It is easier to grow larger BG/RES when LMB are more numerous. It is easier to grow larger LMB when LMB are less numerous. The keystone is not the BG or RES, the keystone community member is the predator. The LMB is the dog that wags the tail (fishery). Predator population management determines not only what kind of predator fishery you will have but also what kind of pan fish fishery you will have as well. I have said this before, every pond fishery is a compromise and to have more of something involves having less of something else. My sense, from your stated goals is that there is no limit to the size of bream in your goals ... the bigger the better. So all you have to decide is how big you would like your LMB to be. The smaller and more numerous they are, the bigger those BG and RES will get.
I like your starting place with 300/300. With 80% survival to the end of the second year ... with feeding/fertilization ... they could weigh between 350 and 400 lbs all told. This of course excludes the small BG & RES they will spawn and your standing weight of LMB. So it isn't too few for sure. By the end of the 2nd year, you want most all of the progeny spawned by the BG & RES to be consumed by LMB where only a small proportion (much smaller than the initial stocking.. say 100 to 120 or so annually) are growing to a size to evade predation. If you get more recruitment than that you will need to manage the recruitment through harvest of BG and RES. The larger you want your BG/RES to grow, the more restricted that number needs to be ... otherwise ... recruits will compete and usurp the growth of larger fish. If you want to increase to 400/400, I don't think it will take you to an unmanageable place but you will need to do more harvest. With no harvest until the fall of the second year ... you should expect ... however ... a 25% reduction in the individual weights of BG & RES relative to your current plan (assuming equal feed/fertilization).
Last edited by jpsdad; 05/29/22 09:24 AM.
