Thanks to Todd for posting Bob Lusk's excellent remarks. In an effort to advance our collective knowledge of the subject, I'd like to raise a couple of points for further discussion.
First, Bob stated "an average pond owner can expect to grow as much as 400-600 pounds of HSB in a one acre pond, all things being even for the 'right' habitat"
I will yield to his superior wisdom, but it still sounds high to me based on my limited experience. It isn't 1000 pounds, but still sounds high. Larger HSB (larger than three pounds) suffer 100% mortality from angling in my ponds in summer temps, regardless of tackle used. This has made me question the sustainability of a large biomass of large HSB...not to mention the viability of the fish as a large pond predator. Is this observation unique to my pond only? Perhaps. I intend to do more experimentation on this question in the future as it bears significantly on the viability of HSB as a small pond predator to meet my pond objectives. Bruce is the only person I have read that has warned about this danger, and I now understand his warnings and respect him even more, if that is possible.
Second, Bob, in the paragraph on HBG, stated "A pond could grow as many as 1,000 pounds of HSB, but water quality issues would quickly follow."
Did Bob mean HBG in that paragraph or HSB? Or maybe both?
