The only LMB fingerlings I have ever seen in my 3 year old pond was some of the original stockers. And that has been a while back so memory is not the greatest. But as I recall I would see them one or two at a time. I would see the schools of small BG feeding in shallow water (crushed up catfish food at that time) and I would rarely see one or two at a time of the LMB. They always stood out with the stripe down the side and their mannerism being different than BG or FHM. FHM always reminded me in the differences in children. Some 2 year olds will look at things, study them a little, then act. Then there are other 2 year old kids that just plow pell-mell into whatever they are doing throwing caution and safety completely in the wind. FHM are like the latter. They nearly constantly move and seem to be single minded in the pursuit of something to eat. BG on the other hand will advance, observe, then advance again (unless they are in a feeding frenzy). They seem to make more calculated movements. I have not watched enough LMB fingerlings to have an opinion of them yet. Wish I did.

I wish I would see some LMB fingerlings out in my pond now. I must have had LMB recruitment but I sure have not caught ANY under 12" bass and I seem to have an over abundance of BG. Beginning to worry I have too many BG so have caught and filleted about 100 in the 6-8" range. Don't think I even made a dent in the population of that size class.

I put extra forage in my sediment pond so I would have enough, and if I do not start seeing some LMB recruitment in my main pond I may get 25 or 50 LMB fingerlings to put in that sediment pond this fall to increase my LMB population instead. The CNBG fingerlings are getting thick in that sediment pond right now.

John

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