Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat Structrue and Fish Growth.

I asked Bob Lusk about structure at the regional pond seminar. He said I need more deep structure. That was eneough for me to say o.k. and put in more structure but my wife asked why structure would help my LMB grow. I paused for a minute and and came up with what seemed like a logical answer. The fish would have more ambush points and therefor not have to search for food. Was my explanation way off target?

Why does adding structure help a fish population grow?

Sounds about right to me, it could probably be described as "structure allows for forage to congregate thereby increasing predation..." or some such lingo.

FYI

? Adding cover = greater fish growth

http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=769&Number=7465#Post7465


mmorgan
Here is a brief example on how you can improve the fishery by providing protective cover (dense cover). A bass has to eat approximately 10 lbs of fish in order to gain one pound. Small 1-inch bluegill generally weigh 5 lbs per 1,000 fish, thus the bass would have to eat 2,000 bluegill to gain one pound. Adding protective cover such as cedar trees will allow the young bluegill to grow for an additional month or more. In just one month, bluegill can quickly grow to 20 lbs per 1,000 fish so now a bass only has to eat 500 bluegill to gain a pound. This means much less energy is expanded allowing energy for growth. This is a simplified example but indicates how protecting the small bluegill promotes and is essential for good bass growth.

http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthread...true#Post130671

Great, I get it now. I had a part of it but I was missing the fact that structrue helps baitfish grow larger and become better meals.

Thanks