Caught a new pond record today. 1 lb 13 oz and 14 inches long. Wasn't really expecting this growth this soon. These F1 Tiger bass are right at 8 months old now. This is by far the biggest I have caught in the pond, I caught several others from 10oz to 1 pound. All fish were really fat. The fish in the pic that I am holding was 10.5 inches and 11 oz. Caught all of them on a Strike King Bitsy Jerkbait.I also caught numerous bluegill on that bait. I had a few of those pushing 8 inches.
Way to go! That's a shooter for sure but the others have had outstanding growth too. Since the middle of September, they have grown more than 2.5 times in weight ... pretty much all of them where the larger one blew that number out. Great growth through the cool months.
It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so - Will Rogers
Lake8 - If you want those LMB to keep growing at the same impressive rate, start monitoring the amount of forage fish present for the LMB to continually eat and grow. In many ponds with your situation and as the LMB get above 2 lbs, then 3 lbs, then 4 lbs the pond runs out of enough forage foods and the bass hit a growth wall and growth dramatically slows down. This is because of two main reasons. 1. TOO many bass per acre and 2. NOT enough appropriate sized forage available to keep all those larger bass AND new recruitment bass well fed. LMB are adding numerous new bass each year to the pond.
As the original LMB continue to grow, they need more food than was originally present due to more lbs of bass present. Continued growth means more pounds of food that is needed for getting optimum growth. Tough job for the pond manager. One solution - remove numerous bass each year as the pond ages to keep fewer hogs that need to be fed for the forage being produced. Sizes of LMB to be removed is part of the management needed for having a quality fishery. Goals, Goals, Goals.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 03/10/2509:57 AM.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
As always, excellent advice. I plan to do everything I can to keep the forage base happy and thriving as well as culling a few under performers next year. I have a fish farm about an hour away and plan on getting some larger golden shiners in the hopes that a few of them make it past the bass's bellies and may potentially spawn. I plan on getting some 6 inch and 8 inch Golden shiners and adding them next week. I also am aggressively feeding the bluegill to keep the happy and full and spawning.
In your area T Shad are also an option. They are great for LMB populations with 2-3 lb LMB, They are also more likely to pull off a good spawn if you add them a few weeks before they spawn into fertile waters. GS will work also but you need enough good structure/plants for GS to spawn bigly and have good survival.
Wasn't there something about the size of GSH, ovarian parasite, and spawning? I thought the rule of thumb on them is bigger isn't always better and they can spawn at as little as 3-4".
1.5acre LMB, YP, BG, RES, GSH, Seasonal Tilapia I subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine
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