Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Property Projects & Construction What did you do at your pond today?

JPS

Thanks for the info! I'm curious to see how the model you're using stacks up to real-life results.

I've read some articles about how genes are passed on, and EWEST shared a graph about it in a previous post on this thread.

I've been keeping track of where in the pond each fish was caught, along with the color and artificial bait used, and even the water temps. Good suggestion about using live bait. I'm not wanting to introduce another species so not sure I want to take the chance. Although, as long as I don't dump the ones I don't use that's probably very low risk.

When it comes to stocking, I got free fish from the state and originally stocked 2" fingerlings at their rate of 100 per acre. That was before I found PB, and I didn’t have any habitat in the pond at the time. Turns out, the pond was already full of 7" GSF and 10" YBH, so I’m sure a good number of those fingerlings got eaten.

On 9/9/22, I had stocked BG at 500 per acre and CC at 100 per acre. (Free from the state) Some of the CC survived, and now they’re over 2.5 pounds.

That’s why, per Bob's advice, I restocked with 3-6" BG and RES last August 2024 and again earlier this month. Before August 2024, I hadn’t caught a single pure BG—only GSF. Luckily, I took pictures of almost every fish my grandkids and I caught, so I could confirm the lack of BG.

I’ve specifically targeted LMB about 10 times and caught 25 total, but only 12 were unique fish. To me, that points to a low survival rate for the LMB as well as catchability.

Now, I’m pulling out every CC, YBH, and GSF I catch. We will also be seining to assist with that once the water warms up.

Thanks, everyone, for all the helpful info!