Welcome pondboss dave,

I may be little confused with the time line but it seems that you stocked the LMB and first BG in the spring/early summer of the 2019? And that you recently caught a 10" BG this year?

That's great growth in a year. BG can grow very fast on natural foods when there is plenty of space. I would just add that how you stocked the pond with 7 3# LMB and a few BG is conducive to LMB growth though not to BG growth. Of course, the initial BG transfers grew well because they had no competition. But they would have produced a bumper crop of YOY. The LMB are two large to be interested in any BG under 3" and so they are piling up at around that length.

As Snipe recommended, follow esshup's advice to get the great trophy bluegill pond you want. I would just add one thing. If your pond experienced a fish kill, that tells me that it is fertile enough to reach its winter carrying capacity. I would not feed this pond formulated feed unless you are interested in harvesting BG. Fall is a good time to harvest and if you feed you should harvest one half the weight you feed + 50 lbs/acre every year. This will ensure that the largest fish that remain have a fighting chance to be there the following spring. To foster trophy BG, harvest less than 9" if possible but don't be afraid to take a few larger to fill the quota. Its better to harvest 5" to 7" fish than >9" fish to fill the quota. By this I mean don't harvest the trophies when there is an abundance of BG that are harvestable size but smaller than some think are harvestable. Nothing gets bigger by throwing fish back. A planned harvest will grow bigger fish and help the biggest of your BG live longer lives.

It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so - Will Rogers