Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations HSB

So, how well do HSB keep bluegills in check. I'm thinking about using them instead of lmb in our pond. Anyone do this? Stocking rates? I will also be adding 6" walleye in the fall as a bonus fish from time to time. No catfish either. My reason for not having LMB is that i want to grow large panfish and not loose a 10" gill to a 6 pound large mouth. A big hsb can't get a big gill in it's mouth. Same reason for not having catfish. Large panfish is my focus. Just looking for feedback and specifics based on experience.

Thanks

Travis

If you are focusing on large panfish, then simply remove all bass that get bigger than 14". That'll prevent almost all your bass from every getting close to growing to 6 pounds.

HSB are poor predators on BG, with just HSB and WE, you're going to struggle to control BG. Even with SMB mixed in, you're gonna struggle to control BG. Ask forum member TJ who has a very health number of SMB and HSB, but still is struggling to manage his BG population.

Use LMB, overstock them so they stunt. Few bass will ever grow larger than 14". This means, about the largest BG they'll be able to feed on is 4"-5" or so... Ideal size range for most of your BG to be removed at. It'll leave the remaining 5"+ BG to have less competition to grow to those trophy sizes you want... I would stock the LMB at 150 per acre. Stock the LMB first or right with your BG and other panfish.

Yeah, I've seen that model, Im just not a fan of lmb. Especially a bunch of small ones all over the place. I was hoping to find another way?

If you want BG, you really need LMB... Leave the BG out and you can have other options IMO.

There just isn't another species out there that is adapted at preying on BG as much as LMB are. How large is your pond? In smaller ponds, manual removal is a possibility and if you are willing to put a lot of work into you, you can remove BG via trapping and netting, enough so that you could get away with just WE and HSB as predators. However, it would require a substantial amount of effort, even for a smaller 1 acre or less pond... Larger than 1 acre and you will need to invest in a fyke/hoop net.

Another forum member on here wants the same thing, large BG. He's got BG, RES, HSB and LMB in his pond. He removes every LMB that he catches that is over 14". His HSB are pushing 4#-5# and he still has numerous small BG.

You'll need LMB to keep up with how fast the BG reproduce, or like CJ says, spend a LOT of time and $$ removing BG.

Travis,

I am the other guy esshup is talking about. My experience tells me that you will definately need LMB to contol the BG population. I have plenty of LMB and still see a lot of small BG. I know HSB will eat BG because I caught one on a small BG 2 weeks ago only because the gill was tossed into open water. They tend to stay in the deeper areas of the pond and I never see them in shallow water. Where do most of the smaller BG hang out? In the shallows. I do see numerous LMB cruising and looking for small BG.

I would not be worried about big LMB eating big BG. As had been pointed out, take out bass when they reach a large size. Leave the smaller ones to clean up the BG.

If you don't subscribe to Pondboss Magazine, I would highly suggest that you do. There is some really great info in every issue. Also, pick up a back issue printed March/April 2011. Page 18 has a "recipe" for growing giant BG. My plan is to follow that plan to the letter.

The other part of my plan is to reduce the amount of cover where small BG can hide. I have too many weeds this year for my liking. I will be removing them soon.

I am beginning to see the results I want. I caught my first 1lb BG this spring two years after I stocked some at 5".

HSB can still be a nice edition to the pond. I planned to sacrifice the chance to catch a big bass in exchange for catching big BG. Traditionally, if you are successfully growing big BG in a smaller pond, then it is likely you won't have many large bass if any. HSB give you the chance to have big BG and catch a HUGE fish. A win win situation from what I have experinced in the past 2 years.

I know you mentioned that you don't want a bunch of small LMB swimming around. Think of them as a tool. It is also big fun watching kids catch them pretty much at will. A kid thinks a 12" LMB is a giant and they can catch them one after another in ponds that are full of them.

Mike

Thank you all for the input. I became a Pond Boss member 3 months ago. Just got my second issue. The pond is 3-3/4 acres. Sounds like we will need bass. I don't think we could trap enough to keep the population down. This was very helpful.

Travis

Good Luck!

We expect to see pics of GIANT Blugills!

I hope so.......in a few years!