Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - Sampling New Bass

As I mentioned in my introduction, we have a 3 acre pond in southern Mississippi that was stocked with forage in April 2024 and F1-Tiger bass in October 2024.

My question is this: what's a reasonable time table for me catching some of the new bass(rod and reel) to sample their relative weights? They were 3-4 inches long back in October when initially stocked.

Appreciate the feedback in advance for those who've already been there and done this.

I see what you mean, but no it doesn't. Just easy and simple to type/remember.

All 1 yr old LMB - different conditions.

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jpsdad is correct as you should see growth that will amaze you. My property is in Tylertown, Ms. I stocked FHM and BG in early March last year (2024) and F1 Tiger bass on July 3, 2024. They were about 3/4 of an inch when I stocked them. By mid September I was catching them between 7-8 inches. This weekend (Mar 1), I caught 1 that went 12 1/2 inches and weighed 1lb1oz.
So, I would think that is your bass had plenty to eat, you should easily catch some between 7-9 inches, maybe bigger. There are 2 baits that I catch the most on. A 1/8 oz "rattletrap" in silver/chrome and Strike King makes what they call a "bitsy" jerk bait, it sinks slow. Both baits I fish on ultralight tackle and you will catch bluegill on them as well (if you are feeding, those should show significant growth as well.)

Lots of luck to you, let us know what you catch.

Well....mission somewhat successful?

I went to the property but wasn't able to measure a baby F1. Here's what I do know however:

1.) I hooked ONE baby Tiger Bass on a mepp inline spinner. He jumped out of the water and spit the hook
2.) There are plenty of bluegill in the pond. The congregation around the feeder looks like a cloud. I did manage to land two bruisers on two casts and then left them alone.
3.) Among the cloud of bluegill, I spotted six F1 Tiger babies swimming with them. All catchable size....not sure if they're just schooling with the masses or if they're using it as a buffet line.
4.) EVERY single cast with a crappie jig (1/16 oz) solicited followers...sometimes bluegill / sometimes baby bass. They just weren't big enough to commit or when they did they didn't get the business end of the hook.
5.) I have several rock piles and brush piles around the edges...all of which held fish.

So, that's what I know and I take it as a good sign. These baby bass were stocked in October 24. My plan is to leave them alone another month and try again in April to weigh/measure one. I've got 3 really nice gravel areas for bluegill spawning so I anticipate May-September should be some heavy feeding for my bass as the bluegill provide for them.

Went back to the pond this past weekend with great success; caught 8 bass with the healthiest looking one being 12 inches long and 14 ounces which comes to a 99% relative weight in the SmartFish app. Once I caught a few I stopped fishing; didn't wanna sore lip more of them since I had the data I was looking for.

My bluegill are spawning in the gravel beds. I caught one big male and then left them alone too so they could get down to business.

At this point, I think it's just a waiting game for me.

One thing I did notice was that certain areas of the pond were just a lot more productive than others. Of the 8 bass, they all came from two distinct locations. 5 were around the dock/feeder and the other 3 were in a corner that has a full tree and an underwater 6 foot brick jetty nearby. Follow the bait = find the fish! It made me consider renovating a few other spots to make them more desirable.