yup, really fired up bruce...thanks,
eric and theo, i'll keep an eye out for more floaters, our water is still pretty cold after the storms rolled through today. i am also going to watch intently as the water warms in the shallow area to see if there are any territorial disputes between my GSF war mongers and newcomers. as you might recall, after the gam population was established, i transferred about 29 lunker GSF from the ranch pond in June last year. The GSF had at least one good spawn, and this year there are hundreds if not thousands of YOY sunnies in the 1-2" range. I have not seen hide nor hair of the large ones (nor have i fished for them), perhaps they perished or just hid out in the deep end all winter. there was one floater late last summer.
there is good cover in the shallows for the BG which mostly range from 1" to 4" with a couple pushing 5". the fish farmer was confident the larger ones would spawn at least once, maybe twice this year. (well before my current YOY sunnies spawn). my plan is to allow at least one BG spawn, followed by a solid growth period (preferably two spawns) and then i'll likely introduce 30-50 3-4" class spotted bass either later this fall or late winter 2007-08 because i dont imagine the GSF will be able to keep up as the top predator.....but they'll have their shot for a while. what do you guys honestly think of this plan? dont hold back
sunil, i wont feed on a regular basis. i want the fishery established on its own legs. if (when) i have supplemental summer water i may reconsider, but i need to keep the nutrient load down in summer months, and the water quality and micro and macro organism growth is excellent in this area....lots to eat....after all the "recent former" RES world record came from just about 20 mi away......and am certain a near record GSF is swimming around the downstream ranch pond
