Dean,
I have a couple of other ideas I think would help.
If adding the BG and liming were investments you might have made, I would consider a couple of improvements that I think will help you with your goals. Take that budget and provide yourself a good floating dock. If you are handy, the cost would be well under that budget. Were I doing it I might hand feed from until you get the feeder. Get a used boat to fish from. Bill mentioned this as solution to the problem of weeds and I like this idea very much. If bought used at the right price it is an asset that depreciates little. The one you want will show up one day in the want ads for fraction of the new price. Between these two things you will get year after year of enjoyment and it will be easier to reach your harvest goals and improve the fishing experience. I would also invest in a good boat cover to prevent it sinking in rains if you leave it at the dock.
The other idea is to fast track a small number of LMB of exceptional genetics. To work, you would need to supplement their food with feed. So it would work like this. Buy 6 to 8 F1 feed trained LMB/acre. Talk to the supplier as to when they will first be available and importance of obtaining a minimum of 50% females. These may be concentrated in a certain size range you could selectively buy. You want to buy in spring when they are making space for the new crop and when females will be easier to identify. Learn how to sex them and you could avoid feeding the males simply by not putting them in. This all you need of them ... about 3 to 4 LMB/acre laddered every 4 to 5 years or 1 to 2 LMB/acre laddered every 2 years. Being spring LMB, they could range from 8 oz to over a pound depending on the density they grow them. Get the biggest 1 year fish they have available and try to get them in 11" to 13" lengths if they are available. Feed trained LMB in small adult sizes generally cost $15/lb. So 40 1 lb fish cost ~$600. If half of them were disposed of (due to being male) the cost is $30 each for females of superior growth traits that can be supplement fed. The value, I think, is there and they are well worth this cost.
So you can't do this instead of Bill's and esshup's harvesting regimen. Do not waiver on this task of harvest.
But now when you feed the BG these LMB will show up for that extra boost of food that the rest of your bass are not getting. For 20 LMB starting at 1lb. 80 lbs feed will grow them to about 1.5 lbs if they are getting nothing from the pond. But they should be getting food from the pond as well especially with the harvest you are conducting. When they are large enough to take the 1" lumps, feed them these and you can begin to mix BG (and speckled catfish) chunks with them. Don't feed too fast and try to make sure they are eating everything you throw at them. Try to implement a cue that that lets them know you are feeding (clanking a pipe for example). There is potential they could eat >5% of the their body weight daily. It's just math, if they eat enough, they will get very large and grow fast. Using BG chunks will improve their health and well being and so simply by keeping a trap at the dock you would have a supply of them whenever needed. You could have some 5 lb LMB in two or three years and much improved RW on the natives by implementing this dual approach.
One last thing, if you feed some LMB, make sure they are fin clipped. This way you know who they are. You can also devise individual clips (e.g. in combinations of dorsal spines to give them an number). Also, whatever weight of feed the LMB are getting (the 1" lumps) ... deduct that from BG feed budget. Putting weight on the LMB is much more than 10 times as efficient when feeding the LMB directly. Much of the feed is lost to the LMB if the BG are eating it. The secondary effect of manuring the pond by feeding is the same either way.
Last edited by jpsdad; 11/16/20 02:05 PM.
