Hello AJ,
I just found this site tonight & I am really excited about it. I,like you, was trying to find some info on bluegills vs. hybrid bluegills. I'm your neighbor a little south. I live in Muskego (Milwaukee), WI. My pond is about the same size as yours. Mine is +/- 100' diameter and 20' deep. We just re-did it. We re-dug it and put in a liner. Reason: when we first built it, we did not hit a spring and were at the mercy of the water table. Long story short and several thousands of $ later, we decided to start over with a liner...so far...so good. I'm still filling it...almost 100% full now.
Just so you know, I'm no rookie with this. Besides the pond, I have a 2,000 gal. recirculating system that I raise koi in and do aquaponics as well.
The main reason I'm responding to you is that I noticed a couple of things that sent up red flags to me. Someone mentioned stocking LMB with your bluegills. LMB will EAT your bluegills. There is a real debate as to whether hybrid bluegills will grow larger/faster than regular bluegills. (The sellers of the hybrids will swear that they do. I just tonight found an article that states that male bluegills will outgrow hybrid bluegills by a 4 x 1 ratio......given the same feed ratio.) The main reason for stocking hybrid bluegills is that they don't, as a general rule, reproduce.
If you want some real fun......stock channel catfish. They are AWESOME to watch when fed.....especially if you have a BUG LIGHT. You must get one of these. They produce an awesome amount of free food for the fish.
I could just go on and on, but I won't...just try to have fun with your pond. I love mine..They will attract bats, frogs and just provide immeasurable hours of enjoyment.
Later.......Steve
