Small pond-lots of warmouth, wanting lmb - 10/03/19 02:47 AM
First off, I'd like to thank this site as a collective for the invaluable information it provides. You've all been incredibly helpful to me as a first timer, possibly without knowing it!
Last April, I dug a 100x70 pond, 15 feet deep in the center. This spring, after the literal dust had settled, I noticed an abundance of tadpoles and then gambusia appearing. A few months after that, fish were popping left and right. Yesterday, I fished it for the first time and dragged out warmouth after warmouth, to the tune of about 10 between 3 and 6 inches long. My plan is to stock lmb in the spring after I get my aerator. What size lmb should I be looking for if the warmouth are already 6 inches? I just started feeding purina game fish chow, with good results on the fish taking it. I was also wondering what I should expect to hear from the local hatcheries on lmb numbers for stocking. I believe I have everything I need to sustain a healthy environment, but I'll defer to you folks on specifics. It's not lost on me that this is a very small pond. I expect to hear numbers in the 40-50 range. The goal of the pond is to create a healthy bass environment more than anything, but I do like the way panfish fight and taste.
My other (somewhat related) question is concerning a visitor that has also taken an interest in my fish, which is a 2' alligator. How much damage can this little guy realistically do to my food chain? He's very slow moving and I would imagine not able to really make a big dent in anything but the toad population. In any event, he's there and eating something, and it may be my fish! He doesn't bother me, and I don't bother him, but the thought will always be in my mind, especially when the bass get here. I was thinking about picking up crawfish next week, but that sounds more or less like a snack for him.
Last April, I dug a 100x70 pond, 15 feet deep in the center. This spring, after the literal dust had settled, I noticed an abundance of tadpoles and then gambusia appearing. A few months after that, fish were popping left and right. Yesterday, I fished it for the first time and dragged out warmouth after warmouth, to the tune of about 10 between 3 and 6 inches long. My plan is to stock lmb in the spring after I get my aerator. What size lmb should I be looking for if the warmouth are already 6 inches? I just started feeding purina game fish chow, with good results on the fish taking it. I was also wondering what I should expect to hear from the local hatcheries on lmb numbers for stocking. I believe I have everything I need to sustain a healthy environment, but I'll defer to you folks on specifics. It's not lost on me that this is a very small pond. I expect to hear numbers in the 40-50 range. The goal of the pond is to create a healthy bass environment more than anything, but I do like the way panfish fight and taste.
My other (somewhat related) question is concerning a visitor that has also taken an interest in my fish, which is a 2' alligator. How much damage can this little guy realistically do to my food chain? He's very slow moving and I would imagine not able to really make a big dent in anything but the toad population. In any event, he's there and eating something, and it may be my fish! He doesn't bother me, and I don't bother him, but the thought will always be in my mind, especially when the bass get here. I was thinking about picking up crawfish next week, but that sounds more or less like a snack for him.