Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose SMB/YP/BG?

I'm just asking this more because I'm curious than anything. I've seen a lot of posts where people suggest YP with SMB and then RES as well. But why couldn'd you do YP/SMB/BG?

Because as a predator the smallmouth have a hard time keeping up with the reproduction rate of the bluegill and don't have the quite the gape of a largemouth. Bluegill will spawn up to 4 X per year.

Numerous ones have tried the SMB-BG route and discovered it rarely works as good as the other forage stocking options that we suggest. CB1 mentions the main reasons for failure of the SMB-BG combo.

There must be an echo in here.

Heavy stocking of HSB can help manage the BG population in a YP/SMB fishery...but only when the HSB attain the size necessary. My largest HSB are now hitting the 27-28" mark, and their gape allows for BG up to 5" I figure. My BG population is noticably lighter, and I'm seeing 8"+ BG more frequently. Exactly the balance I was seeking...but once the largest HSB class dies of old age, I'll likely see a rebound in BG population until the next HSB class achieves that size. That's why ladder stocking fish like WE or HSB is so important for BG management in my scenario.

TJ:

Haven't you also removed BG from that pond? How many?

Yes, probably collected 2,500 over 3 years...don't believe that's been as much a factor as the SMB and HSB gape allowances. It's like night and day this year, my population has to be down 75%.

How many of the largest size class of HSB would you estimate are in the pond?

What are the largest SMB and WE in the pond? You have a healthy population of GSH as well, correct?

I would say I have a standing population of around 150 HSB in the fishery - 2.5 ac. 100 are 20"+, with the largest running 27-28". I've measured the gape of the top end fish and they are certainly able to manage an adult GSH, and BG 5 to maybe 6".

SMB population is hard to tell, as they are successfully reproducing in the pond. I have at least 50-75 SMB 14"+, with probably couple dozen fish approaching 18". I have a suspicion I may have a few shooters that are approaching 20" by now, also.

WE population is probably around 50-75 fish, averaging 14-15" by now. We have caught and released a 21" WE twice over the past three years. I never saw her this year, however.

The GSH population has also be decimated along with the BG. I'm in a wierd situation now as I always lamented the stocking of GSH and BG and wished I could do it over again with just RES and different forage types. Now, with both their populations diminished, I'm wondering if I should start stocking adult GSH again. I figure the BG will take care of themselves over time. I have noticed the average size of BG is increasing - more nutrition for fewer fish - and I'm excited about that.

The SMB and HSB are so voracious I could easily feed 5G bucket of Aqua Max LMB every night... and I fear that's a sign the fishery is getting very close to being out of balance. So far, however, the HSB and SMB body conditions remain solid. I'm going to need to implement something new in the fishery management strategy, just not sure what yet.

TJ:

It sounds like your fishery is starting to become what I've faced in my personal pond the past few years. Body condition of the predators is good/great, but the forage population is minimal. I was keeping the forage population high by adding 2"-4" BG, but everything that I put in the pond was eaten. I have 38 tagged feed trained LMB in the pond and a few HSB. Last year I started a new rule that every LMB that is caught that doesn't have a tag is to be removed, no matter what the size. I also targeted Male LMB on nests this Spring - tagged or not. Finally I'm seeing my BG population catching up, and I'm seeing at least one LMB spawn that made it. In my pond, I'm feeding around 60# of food (AM 600/AM LMB) per month.

I'd think seriously about implementing a predator removal plan very soon before the pond gets too far out of balance. Once you start seeing low WR in your predators, you'll spend 2-3 years reversing the trend.

With as much food as you are feeding, the nutrients are building up in the pond, and if the weeds get whacked back, the FA will probably explode on you.