Bill, you said it much better than I could. I am fighting that problem in my pond right now. I stocked 38 feed trained LMB from another pond at 14"-16" size in 2011. They are tagged with a numbered floy tag, so I can tell which ones they are. My pond fluctuates in water depth about 60", so any shoreline cover for forage fish to hide in is gone starting in August and it continues like that thru the winter. They are basically swimming around in a bathtub. When that happens the LMB have a field day eating all they can. I also feed AquaMax 600 2x day when water temps are above 60°F, and feed the trout that I stock during the winter all year long once a day. I also stock Tilapia during the warmer months to combat Filamentous Algae.
The rule is to take out every LMB that is not tagged, no matter what the size. I still can't keep a good forage base going in my pond. I stocked between 1,500 and 2,000 2"-4" BG 2 years ago and I doubt that 20% remain alive in the pond. 4 years ago I stocked 200 adult Golden Shiners that were between 8" and 10" long. None remain in the pond today.
I'm adjusting the pond rule this year. I will still be removing every LMB that is not tagged, but I will also remove every Male LMB that I can catch that is tagged. I will fish heavily during pre spawn and spawning time to target all the male LMB, and aggressively target LMB the remainder of the year.
I will also be adding cover for the forage fish, both in shallow water and in the 6'-9' depths (at full pool). I will also be adding cover for the fish in the deepest part of the pond, so it can be utilized during the winter months instead of having the fish swimming around in a bathtub.
This LMB is NOT a feed trained LMB. See what ample forage will accomplish. It looks like a feed trained LMB. 17.5" 4# 4 oz.
Relative weight 149
Stocking the correct number of LMB in the beginning, AND having the correct amount of cover for the forage fish is MUCH easier to do rather than to scramble to correct your mistakes later. Been there done that.
If I had to do it all over, I'd consider a HSB/dozen Female LMB pond.
