Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations how to keep bg from stunting???

the goal of my 3/4 acre pond is to have some nice bg. i am feeding with an auto feeder now and also have bass in to keep them thinned. i have heard that this is a good way to grow big bg, but in the past i have seen ponds have a bunch of stunted bass and bg. i kept about 15 female bg last week to eat, and released all the males. how often should i keep fish and what are the signs that i am doing right or wrong with the bg management?

Hey, Scott, I think the best easy thing to do is just continue to monitor your catch. Record lengths and weights and you should be able to notice any trends over time. If you see a downward trend, then you know something needs to be done.

I have one pond that is just LMB and BG, and most of the LMB are on the smaller side, with a few nice ones (for our pond, anyway) thrown in for the fun of not ever really knowing if you'll catch one of them. The BG are doing really well and have just started taking food well, so I'm hoping to see some good growth on them in my case as well.

My totally uninformed guess is that you're on the right track, but just be sure to weigh and measure and you'll know what's going on in your pond.

I specifically fish for dinks, and keep everything 4" and under. I'll relocate them or feed them to LMB in other ponds as forage. I'll catch anywhere from 40-60 an hour without moving my boat, or from shore. I C and R both male and female bg as I want some fry as well, and those female bg can get big. Anything over 4". Eventually my ratios change, and instead of mostly small fish, I start catching some larger ones, more and more. I'll also bring along the kids for the action. Sometimes they do all of the fishing, I just remove fish, or train them to, bait hooks and untangle. Also let them practice casting. Going to be doing at that DIED's pond sooner than later.

THe best way to keep bluegills from stunting, is to keep the bass small and hungry. That way whatever bluegills do get through, are good size, and the smaller ones are cropped off instantly.

This is in the Archives, and has a great deal of good solid information:

Growing Some Big Bluegill

Ken

besides, it is widely known that the best way to keep a bluegill from stunting is to take away his tennis shoes

I thought it was to stop feeding them coffee. Jeez there are so many crackpots here on Pond Boss.