Pond Boss
HYBRID STRIPED BASS (WIPER)



Eats fish and pellets.

No reproduction in ponds.

Reaches five pounds in systems with high summer temperatures. May reach over ten pounds with heavy feeding, excellent water quality and summer water temps not exceeding 85 degrees. Hybrid cross between Striped Bass and a White Bass.

Fair to good palatability.

History of HSB link - AFS via George.
http://www.pondboss.com/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=20&t=003579

http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=353 Striped Bass FishBase


http://64.95.130.5/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=3308 White Bass FishBase


LARGEMOUTH BASS



Prefers to eat fish, but can be trained to pellets.

High reproduction potential.

Reaches sizes of eight pounds in the north and 14 pounds in the south. Florida strain is found in the deep south U.S. and has greater growth potential, however may be more difficult to catch on a regular basis. Florida strain will not survive winters in northern U.S.

Good palatability.


http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=3385 Largemouth Bass (LMB) FishBase


SMALLMOUTH BASS



Adult fish prefer to eat fish, crayfish and other live prey items. Sometimes will adapt to pellets.

Low fecundity in ponds, unless given specific substrate such as fine gravel.

Can reach sizes in ponds exceeding five pounds.

Good palatability.


http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=3382 Smallmouth Bass (SMB) FishBase
Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 120:500-508, 1991
© Copyright by the American Fisheries Society 1991
Experimental Analysis of Prey Selection by Largemouth Bass:
Role of Predator Mouth Width and Prey Body Depth
K. DAVID HAMBRIGHT
Section of Ecology and Systematic and the Ecosystems Research Center
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
Abstract.—Piscivorous fish are size-selective predators. Although sizes of prey selectively ingested
by piscivores traditionally have been measured in terms of prey length relative to predator
length, the relationship between prey body depth (measured dorsoventrally) and piscivore mouth
gape may be a more appropriate measure of prey size selection. In 2-d feeding trials with three
sizes of largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides, I offered various sizes of shallow-bodied fathead
minnows Pimephales promelas and deep-bodied pumpkinseeds Lepomis gibbosus in assemblages
of one or both species. All sizes of predators preferred pumpkinseeds with body depths well below
the maximum size ingestible. Small predators also preferred fathead minnows with body depths
below the maximum size ingestible, whereas intermediate and large predators selectively ingested
the largest fathead minnows offered. Largemouth bass never ingested prey of body depth greater
than their own external mouth width. Although lengths of selectively ingested fathead minnows
and pumpkinseeds differed, largemouth bass showed highest preferences for prey of similar body
depths regardless of taxonomic identity. These results suggest that, in addition to setting constraints
on maximum sizes of prey that can be ingested by piscivores, the relationship between prey body
depth and piscivore mouth gape may also be important in selection of prey within the range of
ingestible sizes. Therefore, body depth may be more useful than the traditional measure of prey
length as a common measure for examining prey selection by gape-limited piscivores over a wide
array of prey species.
Piscivorous fish are gape-limited predators,
consuming only prey they can swallow whole. Because
prey are generally swallowed head- or tailfirst,
their body depth (measured dorsoventrally)
relative to the size of a piscivore's mouth determines
whether they can be ingested (Swingle 195Q;
Lawrence 1958; Werner 1977; Tonn and Paszkowski
1986). Thus, in any particular habitat prey
with boidy depths greater than the largest piscivore
gape are invulnerable to ingestion. The vulnerability
of prey within the range of ingestible sizes
is determined by other factors such as size distributions
of piscivores and prey, prey encounter rates
with piscivores, and predator-avoidance behaviors
of prey (Wahl and Stein 1988; Hambright et
al., in press).
Prey-selection behavior of piscivores also influences
the vulnerability of prey. Optimal foraging
theory postulates that predators maximize the ratio
between the benefits gained and the costs incurred
in obtaining prey. Obviously, the benefits
gained increase as a function of prey size, but cost,
in particular that due to handling time, also increases
rapidly with prey size (Werner 1974). Hoyle
and Keast (1987,1988) demonstrated that, for two
piscivores (largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides
and grass pickerel Esox americanus), the
weight-adjusted handling time for prey of equivalent
lengths varied


TABLE 3.—Predicted and actual maximum body depths (standard lengths in parentheses) of fathead minnows
and pumpkinseeds ingested by small, intermediate, and large largemouth bass. Predicted values are based on the
mean external mouth widths of the predators. Prey standard lengths were calculated with equations (1) and (2) in
the text by substituting the mean predator mouth width for prey body depth. Asterisks indicate prey sizes exceeded
the naturally occurring size ranges listed in Carlander (1969, 1977).

Largemouth
bass group

Small --- s below

Intermediate --- i below

Large ---- l below

Mean external
mouth width
(mm)
14.6 - s
25.6 - i
34.2 - l

Maximum size of
fathead minnow (mm)

Predicted
14.6 --- s
(59.8)
25.6 --- i
(99.2*)
34.2 ----l
(130.0*)

Ingested
13.3 -- s
(55)
13.3 -- i
(55)
13.3 --- l
(55)

Maximum size of
pumpkinseed (mm)

Predicted
14.6 --- s
(39.6)
25.6 --- i
(62.3)
34.2 --- l
(80.9)

Ingested
13.0 --- s
(35)
22.2 --- i
(55)
31.5 --- l
(75)



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