I definitely consider that fish a trophy, its a dandy. I don't recall how old your pond is but as it ages LMB reproduction will eventually make fish like that very difficult to grow without a diligent harvest of smaller LMB. Nature seems to take a pond without angler intervention to a state of more but smaller LMB and fewer but larger BG. I have a lot of experience fishing ponds like that and enjoy the superb trophy BG fishing they provide. This seems to be the balance that keeps the BG in check and maximizes biodiversity. These old BOWs, many older than 70 years now, still produce dandy BG and lots of modest LMB. They are a lot of fun to fish and the lack of trophy LMB isn't an issue for me when I fish them.

The best public waters that produce trophy LMB produce them in numbers that are measured in units of acres per fish. When an angler catches one, its a noteworthy accomplishment. I could see where if an angler owned a pond where 75% of the population were trophies he could lose the appreciation of what a trophy is and what the accomplishment really means in waters where LMB and BG are fighting their battles naturally. To be sure, I appreciate what you accomplished in growing that great fish above.

Even so, a lot is invested into trying to grow big LMB and sometimes it just seems an injustice when a member has given it the good ole college try and failed despite their investment of time and money. This particular approach is one that would stack the deck and could produce both trophy BG and LMB on an ongoing basis for the cost of 3 1 year old female LMB/acre-year, 40 1 year old male BG/ year, and 7.5 lbs of 1" TP/year. It would allow a harvest of up to 30 lbs/acre of LMB and 50 lbs/acre of BG every year and a guy wouldn't even have to buy a feeder, feed, or an aerator to do it. But he needs a source for the sexed ladder stocking and water that is provisioned to exclude contaminating fish. There are number of farmers who are producing food fish at barely break even prices who might take up that challenge with some of their water. I would like to think they could produce fish like this for a good profit and it remain a great value for the owners of recreational fisheries that are geared toward maximizing trophy potential.

Last edited by jpsdad; 10/24/20 04:37 PM.

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