.... I learned you can't use lmb relative weights to determine if there are too many in the pond. That did not work well enough to reduce my fish kill, most all of my lmb were over the 100%...
Tracy,
Great LMB relative weights and excessive pond standing weights, though it may seem counterintuitive, may make perfect sense if the standing weight of predators and adult prey fish are especially large. For the LMB to possess good relative weight, there must be an abundance of YOY and so when a large standing weight of predators and adult prey fish are present, good condition of the predators might indicate unusually high standing weights of prey offspring.
Especially when feeding or fertilizing to enhance the production of prey YOY, I think it is important to harvest prey fish that exceed the optimum lengths consumed by predators. In the case of feeding, at least
the GAIN that the feed is contributing to prey fish adults should be harvested, IMHO.
