bass pond june 24 #3

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Comment by Walt Foreman on June 24, 2012 at 8:09pm

That's a great question!  I'm not sure as to the age of any of these bluegill because the pond had bluegill in it for many years before I began managing it three years ago; but most of the bluegill we caught today looked pretty young.  I'd guess two, three years old at max.  Three years ago this pond was in the worst shape of any pond I've ever managed - there were no bass left, the bluegill were morbidly overpopulated such that they averaged 2" with bulging eyes and emaciated bodies.  I stocked largemouth twice - 40 tiger bass fingerlings in summer 2009 of which I'm pretty sure very few survived the bluegill gauntlet, and then 18 northern-strain from 10" to three pounds that I caught from a nearby pond a year later.  I also stocked 2 12-14" tiger musky in December 2009, and last summer 10 one-pound-size HSB and five blue cats that were 5-10 lbs. each at the time of stocking.  In summer 2010 I also stocked six crappie from the local river because I was desperate to get predators, any predators, into the pond - there seemed to be tens of thousands of tiny bluegill and I didn't know if I'd ever get them under control.  But it seems to be coming together now. 

Comment by Tony Livingston on June 24, 2012 at 7:59pm

Good one Walt! He looks well on the way to trophydom. How old is he?