Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Bluegill Harvest

I never harvest my original stocked fish. They get to live to life expectancy. The succeeding generations are the ones managed.

I would not harvest my large BG. Harvest the smaller ones. Harvesting the largest BG has several negative consequences. It reduces the population potential as the larger fish have more eggs and better guarding potential (i.e. better reproduction success). Harvesting the large BG males encourages stunting as smaller BG males (who would normally not spawn due to dominance issues) use their reserves/energy in spawning and reduce their size/growth potential. This leads to multiple generations of small slow growing male BG and stunting potential.