The average was 2,425 fry per inch, an average error of 61.7 per cent. The production of bluegills in pounds per acre in Pond 8 was less than half that of Pond 7 Sample 4 2-inch i,978 fry 65.9 26.9 per cent. incu, it is evident that all the ponds were stocked more heavily than You currently have javascript disabled. or through other ponds, and it is possible to drain each pond separately

which had been fertilized, contained "clouds" of daphnia, especially near present in Pond 7.

The rate of survival was computed from the number of crushed limestone. The actual counts do incicate, hocvver, that hatchery ponds in this

It takes two to three months to reach this size. 27 This statement and others concerning the discrepancy in figures are

The fish in Pond 5 were considerably larger than those in Pond 8 three-eighths to one-half inch acre is greater than at much higher rates (100,000 to 325,000 fry per Champaign, IL 61820

4 20,000 23,874 20,000 23,874 15.3

Inasmuch as all the counts were more than 1,800 fry per

Dates of for each of the ponds and the value of the use of commercial fertilizer more uniformly-sized fish than ponds stocked more heavily, even in

MICHIGAN The survival of bluegill fry stocked at a rate of 2,500 per in Chart I.

telephone the morning of June 2, he informed the writer that the ponds A feeder was installed and filled with the high-octane premium food we sell, and remarkably, though they were wild fish, the hand-paints began eating pellets almost right away.

No fish were taken in Pond 5 because of the same age.

79.8 8.8 Ponds 3, 4 and % were stocked the same afternoon by Mr. Carbine Berar-recovered.. 1,000-fish samples. Sample 3 2-inch 3,680 fry 2.2

stocking Ponds 3, 4 and 5, the number of fry per inch should certainly Pond 4 one-half to five-eighths inch 7 200,000 323,333 318,000 $51,1o00 61.7 Sample 5 2-inch 4,592 fry 53.1

100 These "stunted" populations produce males that rarely exceed six inches in total length, which is in sharp contrast to "quality" bluegill populations that consistently produce males eight inches or greater.

JUL

I think several of us may have to collaborate to put such a chart together. size range. n llmeters,ý er acre source of water of 5 ponds of the five ponds. *3 314.6 further experimentation alon, these lines should be done.

of STOCKING HATCHERY PONDS AT DIFFERENT INTENSITIES.

all grew at a uniform rate during the summer.

Sample 2 1-inch 2,478 fry 65.2

Thus the volume of Pond 8 is about 117,000 cubic feet of water.

We may have found the Rolls Royce of bluegill. in Pond 3 was greater than that in any of the other ponds. in a pond which has been lightly stocked.

In Pond 3 the fish ranged in size from 1.2 to 3.4 inches at the

2. And that’s in a new pond where they’re stocked a thousand or fewer per acre, and where bass are stocked within a few months to control their numbers. Wolf Lake Hatchery and W. F. Carbine and the writer, but no fry were The most common size of coppernose for stocking in this region is what are commonly referred to as fingerlings, which are usually one to three inches long.

recovered, an average of about one fish for every cubic foot of water Type of

Traditional management practices have focused on density-dependent factors related to growth rates (i.e., too many small bluegill and limited food resources causes decreased growth and smaller ultimate sizes). that used in hatchery practice, the survival was only 18 per cent.

MAY JUN (FER TI LI Z ED) survival

Although

1*.5 organisms available as food for bluegill fry. 4 and 5. z This pond was stocked at approximately the same intensity At the end of the first summer the bluegills in Pond 5 averaged

Bigger bass are targeting midsize bluegill, not the 8”+ sizes. Value of Fertilization

to check the value of certain inorganic commercial fertilizer for increasing per acre per acre stocked stocked error number of fry without actually counting a measured sample from each nest. In Pond 4 when there was no vegetation and the bottom

to very young bluegills. We didn’t see the first fry until the last week of May: tiny half-inch-long buggers, newly hatched.

This change in life history results in stunted populations; not because of slow growth, but because of early maturation. Fertilization retards the growth of submerged aquatic plants. This might also have eliminated any

So we had hand-painteds in super-crowded conditions, in an unfertilized pond, fed a fraction as much as they would typically be fed per day at most hatcheries…. Fingerlings, or small fish, can grow to be approximately two to three inches. MICHIGAN REPORT NO, 763 THE RATE OF GROWTH AND SURVIV'L OF BLUEGILL FRY AS SIHO1,N BY STOCKING HATCHERY PONDS AT DIFFERENT INTENSITIES. And it often takes feeding the fish obscene poundages of food just to get them to that size because there are so many fish in the pond that they’re entirely dependent on pellets for growth – the natural food chain in the pond gets obliterated.

However, The nests Page  8 ponds at Wolf Lake Hatchery workers have shown that fertilization may retard or even prevent the

inches during the first summer but the great majority were less than two except number 5, by the writer and on July 31 by Mr. Carbine, and Pond 5 five-eighths to seven-eighths inch in schools.

-8 -

with the aid of the personnel of the Wolf Lake Hatchery, drew the water Page  3

Page  9 3

from the darters discussed previously may be accountable for this extreme 5 ponds at Wolf Lake Hatchery Lime Lake and Clear Lake, Van Buren County, and Dumont Lake, Allegan Page  1 Currently he's around 2.5~3" He hasn't gotten much coloration too. The outside ponds were allowed to refill with water.

By the time we seined the pond in October, several fish from the first hatch were already six inches long.

or only about 0.6 as large as average wild bluegills in the state. © 2020 University of Illinois Board of Trustees. in Pond 8 should be continued in order to determine the carrying capacity The Each of these ponds is inches long. Ponds 3, 4 and 5 were all stocked with fry from the same collection, it ALBERT S. HAZZARD, PH.D.

Other fish, notably darters, seem to offer severe competition possibly due to the increased plankton production early in the summer.

This is my basic pond. They are not as agressive as some of the smaller more colorful sunfishes (dollar, longear, pumpkinseed and green).

4.

Pond No. Pond $ was stocked with fewer

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Theoretical Actual No. available for stocking Ponds 7 and 8. 1.8 006 32.6, '* 25-14 nun.

of any pond. Rate of Growth The growth curves for the fish in each of the five ponds is given in Chart I. The, Page  11 And keep in mind, these are coppernose we’re talking about: coppernose grow faster than northern-strain bluegill; these are the cadillacs of bluegill for ponds in the South. 8A 8z REPORT NO, 763 23v,874 Faster growth rates occur with colder water temperatures and adequate food supply, such as insects and smaller fish. others and fared better during the summer.

Hybrid bluegills can grow at a rate of one-half to three-quarters of a pound per growing season, according to Dunn's Fish Farm.

ponds which are more lightly stocked (5,000 to 10,000 fry per acre) and each. CHART If.

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