Thanks for the encouragement JP's!
For the time being, I'll enjoy the CC/BG combo...knowing that there are some HBG still there and the hopes of the possible HSB or two. I do feed once a day and have all these years, but dinnertime always seems to lack in attendance. I put in 15 CC ranging from 1 to 1.3 pounds (~14- 18") this spring with one floater. I can only witness 5 of them feeding at the surface at any one time, but my guess is there are around 10 survivors. Another 15, CC (1 pounders) will go in next year (or 5, 3 pounders - if available). Up to this point, hindsight being the key factor, I do not believe culling has been important at all. So, my current goals are to get a strong feeding population established and worry about monster sizes and culling in the upcoming years. I have grown to enjoy feeding the fish more than actually fishing for them.
I did add about 30 foot total of hedge and cedar limbs (with some folded-up hog wire fencing) to the bank for smaller fish cover this year (two different areas). If and when the time comes for the FH, larger cover can easily be added as hedge is abundant on my land. I will be looking for possible CC recruitment and the gross abundance of BG before coaxing/bribing Augie to take me out to source the FH from the Missouri river.
Hey QA, if you need a stocking of CC sometime give me a holler, we can go out on my pond and catch a bunch of them, you are welcome to some, when my feeder goes off or when I hand feed them the water absolutely churns with the BG and GS trying to get their share before the CC get there, but they back off when the CC start feeding, they will clean up whatever much I put out in not much more time then the feeder took to throw it, I seen probably 40 CC yesterday right around the feeder and they didnt get nowhere near full. thats when they are easy to catch. they are two yrs old now and between 2 and 3 lbs but I also have young ones so they are reproducing obviously.
As for FH, I cant imagine a scenario where I would want them in my fishing pond, they will clean out a ton of fish.
