Esshup, The pond has abundant natural forage consisting of FHM, GS, crayfish, mountain redbelly dace, creek chubs, etc... I just restarted feeding Optimal Jr after shutting the feeder off last fall. It’s hard to guess how much feed I will be using per month this year but anticipate averaging about 50lbs per month April-October. As you’re aware this is a multi-species pond. I appreciate the help! Thanks! Heppy
Heppy, there is no way to know for sure because you cannot know how much they are eating per fish "group". The key is know how much they are individually eating. Yes I knew it was a loaded question that I asked. The 2nd question is what do you consider to be a "harvestable size fish"? My grandmother who was in her 30's during the Great Depression would shoot me if I told her I didn't keep the 5" Bluegill that I was catching. To her that was a harvestable fish.
Providing your CC are getting enough to eat, they should be around 14"-16" bu this Fall. Pretty much like Steve_ said. We stocked Hybrid Crappie (HBC) in a pond at 2.5"-4" in length in May 2019 and in a year some were 8"-9" and a few were caught that were 13". This winter the HBC were around 12" with a few around 14". Your results may vary depending on how much food they have to eat.
