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During the spring/summer of 2020, my predator fish seemed to be off to a great start. I still had a few FHM swimming about and had some GSH that were 7"+ already. I was really excited for my main forage to be large enough that they would reproduce freely without being eaten by any of my young predator species. I've heard and read that GSH are the most fertile at 3-4" and not so much when they reach 7-8" because their eggs contain a lot of fat, but they still have to be contributing a fair amount. We saw a few RES that were pushing the 8" mark already which we were pretty surpised by. The YP and SMB were growing rapidly from just a few months ago. I knew they had plenty to eat at this point in the game, but it was shocking how quickly they were growing. We also had quite a population of bullfrogs which we began to harvest that summer. I really didn't have a predator in the pond to keep their numbers down and they were chowing down on my crawdads so I unleashed my secret weapon them-----my 8 year old redhead!
Attached are some pictures of those species that summer and an estimate of my fish growth.
Summer 2020 fish sizes.....
SMB - 8"+ at just over a year old YP - 6"+ at just over a year old RES - 7-8" at two years old with plenty of evidence of recruitment WE - 7-8" at just over a year old GSH - 7" at two years old
Here is a link to a video of my SMB chasing GSH as they feed. We have really been entertained by our fish feeding. I wonder what it would be like to be a GSH in my pond. Out comes the feed and you just can't resist coming to the surface to grab a bite, but as soon as you do, you become lunch!
Also, the aerators really attract the baitfish as well. The SMB are constantly breaking the surface around them chasing food.