Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - LMB vs. SMB Growth ?

I didn’t really want to read threw a bunch of posts to maybe find an answer
Since my eradication in May ‘23 and predator stocking 9/15/23 (almost 2 years) ago
We hit 2 milestones in the last week by catching a 2# SMB and 3# LMB. I know there are bigger out there
swimming around but will use these numbers because they have actually been caught and weighed.
Is this good growth, normal growth or below average for the Midwest?
Like most everyone else, we have had drought, flooding and lately sever algae blooms with zero water visibility.
Not really ideal growing conditions.
Both species in the same 5 acre pond which I’m sure is not suggested or normal either.
Also what should the growth rate variance be between the 2 species ?

On another note, I’m very confused by the offspring or 2nd year class that I have been targeting lately.
Some of the LMB I’ve been catching have been as small as 2” and as large as 7”.
The 2” were obviously born at some point in ‘25 but the 7” fish seem to small for a ‘24 spawn but to big
for a ‘25.

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Im in southwest mi.(little shorter growing season). I can speak a little too SMB. Ive been growing them since 2007 and started raising fry in 2014. In the last 3 seasons i have been documenting some of my findings. After spawn i move fry to a pond that has only fathead minnows. This usually happens in the last week in may. Before i can get them trainned on feed, which takes about a week. I notice some larger size fry. This i think is because they eat the smaller fry in the bunch while the smaller are focusing on smaller plankton etc. That 1st few weeks sets the growth stage. Keep in mind these fry are from the same spawn timing. Growing seasons can be very different. Early spawn bigger fish by the end of first season. Example, spawn this yr was 2 weeks later than last yr. 3 mths growth this yr shows fry from 2" to 6" with the majority in the 4" range. Last season were averaging 5" at 3 mths. And 2.5" to 8".
Jason d. Your 7" fish could have just been aggresive or feeding on siblings. The runts get pushed up into shallower water were the food may be smaller. The fry that i saved from last yr are now 15 months old. Smaller size around 8" up to 12" average being around 10" fat and healthy! Also note: LMB will dominate the SMB. They will push the smb into deeper water and take over the shallow water for spawning and feeding. Most of my smb nest are in 2ft of water because there are no lmb. They thrive here in water from about 74° to 82° feeding aggresively.

The rains and muddy water didn’t come in until June 7th so the spawn would have already taken place. With that, I feel like I lost a lot of the growing season, my LMB growth was pretty stagnant up until early August. I was getting very concerned that something was wrong. They have started getting larger here as of late. I fish often and record every predator fish caught. There is a big gap from 1.75# to 2.25#, I have very few LMB recorded between those 2 weights
Now every LMB I catch is either over 2.25# or this years hatch (under 8”)
I’ve also had some sort of Algae bloom going since the first of July and it just won’t go away

Whatever Schleprock, you were too busy trying to net them. Besides in the stoneage they used how many hands high to measure the T-rex

Numerous fishery studies have shown that SMB will not produce a succssful spawn that recruits new SMB into a "pond" with reproducing LMB. In larger water bodies SMB can often but not always recruit new SMB. In a pond having SMB with LMB, for new smallies for the long term, they have to supplimentally periodically stocked usually as larger sized SMB stockers. Jason if you ever get SMB to recruit new young smallies, we definately want to hear about it because you are definately doing something VERY right and different.

Make a couple of these and put them in 24" to 36" deep water where you can observe them. Those are #2's or railroad ballast sized stones on that pallet. SMB spawn on them, I have't seen a LMB use it. If you do see a LMB on it, catch it - it will most likely be a male and taking it out of the pond will be a good thing.