Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Corrective stocking Overcrowded bass

FireIsHot,

Could you expand on your grow out of 5 LMB? First, were these F1/Florida or Northern. My hunch is F1/Florida ... because it fits my model well ... but I often wonder whether the average maximum the model estimates is low for true satiation rations.

I have run the model in average DFW climate. Just assuming you had a crop of YOY in place at the time of adding the LMB. 10" is the length of LMB I assumed. On Nov. 1 it estimates the average female weights are around 2.8 lbs ranging between 2.6 and 3.0 lbs. Of interest, the model also estimates you could have had a really good standing crop of BG forage on Nov 1 as well. So assuming a YOY population of 8000 (64000/acre) at the time of stocking LMB ... maintaining feed inputs to support 800 lbs/acre BG ... the pond is estimated to have produced a crop of 57 lbs of BG on Nov 1 (456 lbs/acre standing) and a crop of 14 lbs of LMB on Nov 1. (112 lbs/acre standing).

So you still may have got a great crop of BG to supplement the main pond while growing those LMB. I guess my question is, did the great crop of BG occur? And if so, can you recall the average length of the BG YOY crop and the initial stocking of BG Brood? Also are the start/end dates about right OR possibly did the grow out extend over the cool months?

First, I'm not a number guy and never have been, so here's what you get.

Add on: I just wanted to say that anything of what I do is extremely easy. When I retired, I shut off deep thinking and focused on common sense. Everybody can do that.

The LMB were Lone Star Legacy Bass from Overtons, and they were pure Florida's.

For me in the hatchery, think Darwinism. The small CNBG/FHM were sized to allow the LMB gorge on them when they were put in the pond. I fed FHM and CNBG fry fish food powder to start, then go to 2.2mm high protein pellets when the CNBG became fingerlings. Over the 6 months, there were CNBG that outsized the LMB's gape. I did add more FHM, and picked up some of the smallest CNBG I could get prior to the LMB being dropped in. The whole process was pretty simple, and having several daily observations did help. So, having an 1/8 acre pond that had proper PH, hardness, etc., having tons of raised and bought forage that wasn't threaten, occasionally adding fresh water from our big pond if needed, and adding limited LMB. When all was done, the pond was seined out.

Right now I'm focusing on my HSB, so I shut off all small pellets except for Endurance 1" pellets for my HSB. Doing so has been eliminating FHM and 1-2" CNBG, and allowing the larger CNBG to survive. The rest go to the big pond with the HSB.


This is some of our sized forage.





Also, Ethan McWhorter of Overtons and I are focusing on a special strain of red tailed CNBG. I've got them, he's got them, so we will go from there. It's not rare that CNBG have red fins, but the hope is that the number grows. I have seen one of my CNBG that had red dorsel, anal, and caudal fin tips, but like all CNBG, the color comes and goes. Ordinary CNBG will be put in the big pond.

Todd taught me how to quickly pick out red tails on white buckets. Below are two young 4-5" CNBG that were at Overtons.

Red Tail


Normal Green Tail

Thank you for expanding. I see now that you didn't first produce a crop of BG. Have you considered doing that before adding predators once the crop of BG has reached a desired relative size? Reasons to consider doing that is to free one from having to add/buy additional forage and growing a nice crop of small to intermediate BG forage at the end of the grow out. I don't think that would be exceptionally difficult to do nor require deep thought. But it would make sense if both of those reasons were a desired outcome for you.

Sometimes I do, and some times I don't. I wanted more forage that particular year to speed things up before winter. Normally, I add 6-7 pounds of FHM to restart a drained, killed, and a refilled pond that I've already made healthy again. When I'm not in a hurry for thousands of CNBG, I add 2 female and 6 males, and let the pond handle all the rest. I also leave primrose in the pond so that any kind of fry gets cover.

The added cost of the forage, initially or later, also has to be looked at pond sizes. A tremendous amount of fish can produce in a smaller pond like mine if it's handled correctly time wise. I also have a 1/2 acre pond, but the cost of loading it with forage is more than I want to spend. You could spend a lot more construction work hours if you wanted a recreation sized pond, or spend less on construction and have less initial cost. Again, having a seine, various vats to hold the fish, and transport ability of the fish, are needed items, but none of those things are required all at once. I started with minnow nets, 5 gallon buckets, and 110 gallon stock tanks and fish tank air bubblers, and slowly replaced those. I was a newb in December of 2011 when I started this and feel comfortable now with having near a 100 sweaty hours in muddy waders.

Again, thank you very much. I appreciate you sharing your pearls with me. I 've learned more than a few things from you through the years. This idea of growing LMB recruits alongside forage is appealing to me.

You got a little brown on your nose there,

Ha Ha Ha!

Guilty as charged. I would be the first to admit that I would like FireIsHot to post more frequently and would hope for more. (More brown nosing?). No, but seriously, I do appreciate that he provided some answers even while not answering some of my questions. Not sure if the answers were avoided, overlooked, the questions not understood as intended, or the facts not remembered sufficiently to answer the questions. I lean towards the latter. Sometimes one has to take what he gets and appreciate that. That all I am doing, appreciating what he gave and what I got.