When angling for BG, they are easy to catch, are in the 8–11-inch size with the RWs at 100% range. While angling the <6-inch BGs are very rarely caught.
The pond is an enigma wrapped in mystery. I wouldn't normally associate these sizes of BG with BG over abundance. It seems to suggest that your LMB have competitors. Competitors can take the form of various species you have noted present in the past. For example, Bullhead, Bowfin, and/or Gar. If you have X-pounds of these competitors, then you have that many pounds of LMB fewer than you could have.
From pond observations, I have No or negligible: BnBH, eel, GSD, GC, GSH, Bowfin, crayfish, or GAR.
I would discourage discounting the presence of any of the predator fish listed above as negligible if they are still present in your pond. If they are there ... there is an impact that isn't negligible. Gar, for example, can get quite large and they can be difficult hook and land. The average life is 15-20 years. I used to fish with a 1.25" streamer below the 3rd set of gates at Grand Lake. Have encountered many Long Nosed Gar that were in excess of 4 feet long. Big fat things that would leap out of the water to get free. Invariably the hook was engaged near the tip of the snout where the barb could not penetrate well enough to get a hook set. I have had as many as a half dozen give me hope in a day while fishing for other fish (sandbass, crappie, and buffalo). They must have been using the long snout to first grip the fly (as tiny as it was). Anyways, if you had just one of them in your pond ... that is one too many. Bullhead are much smaller but if you had 5 2lb Bullhead to the acre ... that's preventing 10 lbs/acre of LMB. Same goes for bowfin, they are intermediate between the Bullhead and GAR in size. Even as few as 2 or 3 per acre ... they can crimp the carry for your LMB. You really must be sure they are not present to be sure they are negligible.
All BGs from 3-10-inches have been fin trimmed, with only 2 in the 4-7-inch range being re-caught out of 80 fish.
This was posted in the original post. But you don't say how many were marked. Is it the 177 mentioned below? If not, how many were marked at that time when you recaptured 2 of 80?
I have marked 177 BG & recaptured none in the past 10 days.
Can you answer these questions?
How many BG have you caught these past 10 days?
How many hours have you fished these past 10 days?
Did you record the marked BG mentioned above? For example, Date, length, and weight? You mentioned that they were 100 RW, so at least you must have weighed them and measured their length? Can you report the metrics collected thus far?
One species that could be of particular importance is the Blue Tilapia that inhabit your pond. Their feeding will cross some with BG. They will consume insects, invertebrates of all kinds, and to a much lesser extent small fish and fry. They are large in your pond (up to 4 lbs). I would think 11" BG might not prevent at least some nest raiding for eggs by TP that are this large. Whatever you can do to remove Blue Tilapia could help to benefit BG.
Finally, you have purchased a Z-trap, a minnow trap, and feed 2 lbs/day. What type of feed are you feeding? Does your budget allow for supplementation of forage? What would that expense be limited to?
Answer these questions, and I will be better equipped to respond with advice that I think could help you.
