Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - Forage Rankings

I've been scouring the internet and the forum on forage and came across on old post on PB that directed me to Lakework.com. Full disclosure, I am not affiliated with them, have never used their services, or talked directly to any other their staff. The opening statement made me think about forage rankings. There are lots of ways to look at it in my opinion. Seasonality, Cost per Unit, Regional Availability, Must be part of the food chain, Helpful if they are part of the food chain...

I wasn't expecting to see Crawfish over RBT. From memory, apologies for not being able to site the source, common carp were high on the list but never recommended due to other problems they can cause. Similarly, gizzard shad are less commonly recommended but if managed properly can be a really good source of food for Large LMB. So, lets assume that the basics are covered, the water is in good shape (not perfect), fertilizer optional.

Basics - LMB
BG or CNBG is a must have.
RES or PS are a helpful fish but wouldn't rank in the "need" to have.
Fish Feeder or Feeding program with Quality Food - While not a need, again helpful to grow more and/or bigger fish.

Basics on SMB
YP as a must have?
RES or PS are helpful no a need?
Fish Feeder or Feeding program with Quality Food - While not a need, again helpful to grow more and/or bigger fish.

Basics on BG or CNBG
LMG over abundance/stunted is a need
RES or PS are a helpful fish but wouldn't rank in the "need" to have.
Fish Feeder or Feeding program with Quality Food - While not a need, again helpful to grow more and/or bigger fish.

Is there a way to rank forage beyond the basics? If a pond owner said I have a few extra bucks and I want to push my fish a little bit further. What would your go to choice be? Which of the fish below or ones not listed provide the highest food value?

Crawfish?
Rainbow Trout?
Tilapia
Tadpoles?
Goldfish?
Shad?
Shimp?
Freshwater Prawns?
Boosting one of the Basic Fish or Pellets in the pond/lake?
Lake Chubsuckers?
Earthworms?
Golden Shiners?
YP addition to a LMB pond/lake?
Scuds?
???

Happy to hear thoughts from all members at PB. Maybe it was a pond you fished many moons ago that had some forage not as common but the fish in the pond were outstanding on quality. Perhaps it's a recommendation that the pros give to clients wanting to take the next step on quality of the fishery. Could be that you found some info on the net or in research paper.

Old saying: only bluegills can spawn enough to feed bass and only bass can eat enough bluegills to prevent a fish kill.

To me, the trick is feeding the bluegills all they can eat and culling small bass so they don’t eat all the small bluegills before they can spawn.

Thus, the best bass raiser is a bluegill farmer that assures that bluegills get all they can eat of food that is of the appropriate size.

Both need food that is 1/4 to 1/3 their body size or enough pellets to make a difference.

The goal is the right (balanced) nutrition at the right time.

I think we should reserve judgment as to the nutritional value of crayfish. Northern Crayfish have been shown to have an energy density comparable to RBT but to date I have not seen anything regarding nutritional value for LMB. Below is a listing I posted in an earlier post with reported energy densities.


At first glance it may seem that northern crayfish are better than RBT but don't be quick to judge them to have more nutritional value than RBT for LMB. Here is why. Crayfish are invertebrates and their exoskeleton comprises a not so negligible proportion of their weight and energy content. The exoskeleton is primarily composed of chitin. Chitin is a complex carbohydrate that is not easily digested. Only fish with the appropriate chitinase enzymes for digestion could extract energy from the chitin of crayfish. Part of that listed energy is probably not accessible to LMB. Are crayfish good forage? Yes, I think so. But we aren't going to understand crayfish digestible energy until we determine how well they support and grow LMB. This needs to be done in a laboratory setting to be reliable and to date I am not aware of any such tests.

Crayfish offer some benefits. They are a seasonal crop that is perishable and so when in abundant supply they are very cheap to buy relative to other forages. In the spring after winter consumption reduces forage numbers and before new crops of YOY replace them there is a window where Crayfish could provide a much needed supplement either to maintain or to grow large LMB. Regardless of the actual digestible energy, Crayfish are probably easier to consume than fish. So the time rate at which crayfish can be consumed is probably higher than fish giving LMB a leg up on total daily energy consumption. They have a place. It seems like Lusk once said that LMB will finish off crayfish supplements before resuming consumption of BG. This truly makes a lot of sense to me.

As Dave mentioned, everyone should have BG as core food produced in situ. Where the production is less than needed to achieve goals, any highly available forage at affordable prices can fill gaps that are occurring. It would seem to be important to understand when forage gaps will be occurring. Everyday is day that an LMB's metabolism is running and it will burn energy no matter what. They will eat everyday to maintain that energy burning and if they get any extra ... they will gain.

As two interesting points mentioned above:


These are good points and interesting concepts.
1. When using small species such as minnows / shiners in a pond fishery as a purpose for long term success as forage fish, A. it is important to have have the correct amount of refuge habitat to protect some of the forage population until the next breeding cycle. When correct refuge habitat is not provided and or too many predators are present one has to periodically be purchasing more forage items such as those who are buying FHM each year. B. When using small forage species it is important to match the small size of adult forage species with the adult size of the main predator species.

2. Note - some but not all brooding adults live too long and grow too large, common fish in this group are common carp, goldfish, often gizzard shad and grass carp. Grass carp even though they do not reproduce they do IMO influence the pond's carry capacity. These are items to keep in mind when evaluating a fishery that involves carrying capacity.