Ty - I am most impressed by the 10-12 inch bluegills! Most of our gravel pits are less productive, and if we produce 8 inchers, I think we're doing pretty well. In the more productive hill ponds, I expect 10 inchers. My best guess is that you will get plenty of reproduction from the bluegills, and feed a lot of walleyes that way. If you maintain high walleye density, which obviously will be an aquaculture goal, then expect them to keep the bluegills sufficiently thinned to produce the lower density, big bluegill scenario. I assume the gravel pit is relatively steep sided, and the submergent aquatic plants are not overly abundant?
Norm -- in answer to an older question, I'm not sure that I would take the risk of fertilizing here, simply based on the ability to produce those big bluegills. This must be a relatively productive water body, and even though gravel pits are far less likely to winterkill, why risk it by fertilizing? That's my conservative thought for the day, anyway.
