Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Creating the food chain Anyone know?

The breeding rate of GSF to BG. As some of you know I am fighting a situation which has allowed a very large population of GSF with very few if any BG. I plan on stocking BG again...however only after I get the numbers down on the GSF. We have added over 500 LMB in the 5-8" over the last year. The pond is roughly 3 acres. I was told by someone that the GSF do not breed as often.

although the common fish primer (which mr. condello so painstakingly created and placed under the archives for us.....thanks for yer efforts bruce) lists a "high fecundity" for both BG and GSF, i have heard here from others in threads long long ago (ewest?, bill cody?) that GSF fecundity is not as high as BG, so in addition to GSF having big mouths :rolleyes: they are not as good a forage for LMB because they are more prone to having missing year classes as a result of LMB predation.......wow, that was a mouthful from me.......how wrong am i? experts?

I hope you are not wrong at all! The sooner I can get the GSF under control the sooner I can put in the better forage BG. Right now the competition would be way to much for the BG and would more than likely get stunted due to lack of food. I may have to add the GSF to my hate signature below my posts. I am hoping by spring I will see a drastic cut in the GSF population.

I don't know if DIED is right or wrong, but I believe that GSF don't have spawning problems; I think it's Hybrid Bluegill that don't spawn as much as standard Bluegill.

The bigger problem with GSF is the size of the mouth as DIED says. (Anyone correct me where I'm wrong).

As Ill-Horn's LMB get bigger, they will help put a hurting on the GSF.

BG (80 M) are more prolific than GSF( 2-10 M) and these are yearly rates (number of spawns in some locations BG spawn many times [? rolling spawn]}. BG have been documented to be 279 times more prolific than HBG in Mich. ponds which equates to HBG fecundity in the few hundred per year range with high % being male (90%). As a general matter BG are bigger and more prolific than GSF. HBG (BG X GSF) exhibit in the F1 generation hybrid vigor wrt aggressiveness and early growth (bigger mouth). BG with its high reproduction rate have a tendency to stunt especially if unmanaged in northern ponds. GSF are generally small 3-4in. and in unmanaged northern ponds it is not unusual to have small GSF an stunted BG about the same size.

Try to find adult BG to stock , let the LMB work on the small GSF , HBG and BG. Also trap , seine , electrofish or partial rotenone can be used to reduce small lepomis. For my 2 cents catching , trapping , seining and LMB will get the job done. In addition add adult BG (to big for LMB to eat) not only will they reproduce they will help inhibit the spawning of too young BG which should help with BG stunting. The adults should have enough to eat as they will dominate the small BG and GSF plus the diets are somewhat different. Supp. feeding can help a lot.

IIRC GSF only spawn once a year, versus the multiple spawning times for BG. This contributes to the numerical disparity ewest cites.

Thanks for the info folks....I am very glad to hear this. Now I need to focus on getting some larger BG this spring to throw in the pond. The problem with this pond in the past was no one was really paying attention to what was in it or coming out of it for that matter. Over the last year I have taken what I understand from you folks to be the right path. The LMB that I have been catching are full bellied...so I am sure they are doing their job. Man I would love to get some of those Georgia Giants in our pond. Just to see the look on the kids faces when they caught them would be worth it. However since we do not regualate fishing everyone and their brother would be in there fishing.

Theo, i think we manage at least two GSF spawns here in sunny CA.....prob cause it stays warm well into October most years.

Another idiot trying to remember something. I'm pretty sure that the reason GSF are so prolific is because they are so aggressive on the beds. That's why they overpopulate even though thier fecundity (did I spell and use that right?) is low.

Brian I believe you are right as far as them being aggressive. I have heard that large numbers of adult BG will control the spawning areas....thus helping to lower the GSF population.