Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - Raising Bluegill

Hi New 1.25 acre pond will be stocked this April with 3000 fingerling bluegill along with a few redear and fatheads. 2in tiger bass will go in this June. Becuase these bluegill will not spawn this summer do I need to stock more bluegill this fall? I want to make sure I maximize bass growth for the first year. Hatchery told me the bluegill will grow to the same length as the bass by this fall so obviously the bass can't eat them yet. Should i put in additional 1-3in blugill this fall?

Barrucuda,

Do you have any prepared habitat for BG spawns that has good visibility?

If not, you might place some suitable material for the BG in locations where you would be able to observe spawning. See how they do, and THEN decide what stocking plans you need to implement this fall.

An adult BG will likely have trouble swallowing anything bigger than a FHM, and they only get those because Fatheads are slow. (In my studies the BG consume FHM faster than Gambusia, even though the Gams are smaller - but fast.) I think 2" LMB are probably safe from medium-sized BG if you stock them both this year.

Sorry - yes I meant spawning habitat.

There are many posters on Pond Boss that observe the multiple BG spawns in their ponds each year. If you still have the time, put in some spawning habitat near the dock or shorelines that you frequent. You should notice when they fan out their depressions, and then you can start looking for the actual fish.

If you don't have much spawning habitat available now, then any that you can install will definitely be a hot property!

I wouldn’t mess with the1 to 3 inch bass at this time. The mortality rate from handling and new environment can be pretty rough on tiny fish.

I would prefer to stock the bluegills this year and let them have some spawns prior to adding predators. And, I would use 2 to 4 inch fish along with about 10 pounds of fathead minnows. Give the forage base a year to develop prior to adding bass. Also, I wouldn’t add anything less than 3 to 4 inch bass to cut down on their handling mortality.

BTW, Lusk says that 90% of the eggs laid will never see that fish’s first birthday. They get eaten as eggs or fry. But, they lay a bunch of eggs.

I am definitely NOT a BG expert on Pond Boss. I just read a lot of posts written by our resident experts.

You can probably find the proper depths for the beds by reading some of the old BG threads. If you don't find a good discussion, then you might want to post your specific question as a new thread.

[I think they can spawn in depths from 1' to 6'. I believe the optimal depths are like 1.5' to 3'? I think you also need a wider range if the water level in your pond has large fluctuations.]

In addition to spawning habitat, I believe a good BG survival rate also requires some dense cover for the fry to shelter. Do you have some more cedar trees? I think a few clumps of cedars in shallow water adjacent to your spawning beds will greatly enhance you BG production. (Even if that doesn't work this year, then it will definitely work next year!)

Good luck!