I'd like some input from others here but that does not indicate (to me) you have a problem, but I may be missing something about the Bass population structure.
Yeah, we definitely have healthy bluegills, I'm just not sure where the LMB are. I'm wondering if I removed too many and they haven't been able to reestablish a population due to the heavy pressure from all the BG?
Dan, what kind of ice cover have you had the few previous winters, and how thick did the ice get?
I just wonder if there was any chance of winter fish kills.
Thinking forward, if you have a healthy Bluegill population, you may be able to add some 'new' LMB and they would have solid forage.
Our ice cover has been pretty weak the last couple years. Nothing that you could walk on. I don't typically clear the ice at all, but we haven't had tons of snow either. Two winters ago, the ice was very clear and I could see green vegetation growing under the ice. I'm not sure how that's possible, but that's what it looked like. This last winter was more typical, cloudy ice and such.
Do you think that adding more LMB is the solution? Or should I try to cut my losses, harvest as many LBM & BG as possible and try adding YP/GS?
