...I believe they can only spawn with other BGs and GSF, but not themselves, so if you only stocked Hybrids...
This is a common misconception. I think fish suppliers pass this on for some reason.. Just for the record, HBG can reproduce all by themselves. The first cross bred results have a very high male to female ratio [mostly male]. This high ratio to males continues into the next generations, but it is said to equalize as the generations continue. Some even say that future generations take on more of the GSF traits. This high male count is what limits them as a forage producer, hence the lack of food for LMB.
I recently added CC to my hybrid only pond and added straight BG as well to help with forage. The HBG have spawned every year since they were stocked 4 years ago, but not alot. Certainly mot enough to feed CC let alone LMB.
Well, between your post and what ewest said, I'm really confused now lol. I could've swore I even heard Mr. Lusk on one of his videos state the HBG can only breed with their parental species and not each other. Or maybe its due to the fact that ~90% of HBG are males (or am I wrong about that, too?).
Either way, I think its an accurate statement to conclude that you don't want HBG as your main forage fish if you're trying to grow LMB. Also, when hybrids of any species reproduce, aren't their F2 offspring inferior to their F1 parents? And don't they continue to get more inferior as they create F3, F4, etc. offspring?
I have been catching some bigger ones today, 14 inches and 1.4lbs isn't that skinny right? I have taken out a couple 1.2 ponders that were also around 14" but I released the ones that were a bit bigger. I still plan to take out 10 pounds total today and have a fish fry tonight. I just wanna make sure I'm not taking out the healthier ones.
A 14-inch bass should weigh 1.5 pounds, so your 1.4 pounder is around 93% relative weight. Not skinny, but slightly underweight.
https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/fi...easy-to-measure-index-of-fish-condition/
