Revitalizing a 2.75 acre farm pond - 06/02/21 02:29 AM
I have seen several similar threads, but with each situation being unique i wanted to go ahead and ask.
I have a 2.75 acre farm pond on our property. A little backstory. My grand dad had the pond dug probably 75-80 years ago. He loved this property and he really really loved to fish! It was last drained probably 25 years ago and stocked with bream and bass. Later carp and catfish were added. The problem we have, like many many others, is an over population and stunted bass population. It is our own fault for rarely taking any out. I have since built our house on the property and would really like to get this pond back in order with some healthy, large bass. In high school and in college i would help my dad in fertilizing the pond and installing fish feeds. Unfortunately, we gradually quit doing that, but i plan to start back.
I have read where, on average, you need to remove 20lbs of bass per acre. Yesterday i fished with a beetle spin and in 2 hours i caught 17 bass and 4 bream. The total bass weight was 9.75lbs and the bream was 1.75 lbs. All of the bass were long and lean. 3 of the 4 bream were nice sized. I did throw back 1 bass that looked "good".
I know from reading that draining the pond or rotenoning the pond would be ideal, but given the current situation i do not think it would be feasable, nor would i want to attempt it! The pond is jointly owned by my family and 2 of my dads sisters, It would be a nightmare going through with that. I really would want to do this myself, along with some help, by fishing the bass out.
What advice can you all give me? To me, 20lbs an acre seems a little light. I don't think that will put a dent in the bass. I did see what looked to be a 4-5lb bass hanging out just off the bank yesterday. That gives me some hope. I would really like to get things back on track because i know that is what he (my grand dad) would want. Thanks in advance.
I have a 2.75 acre farm pond on our property. A little backstory. My grand dad had the pond dug probably 75-80 years ago. He loved this property and he really really loved to fish! It was last drained probably 25 years ago and stocked with bream and bass. Later carp and catfish were added. The problem we have, like many many others, is an over population and stunted bass population. It is our own fault for rarely taking any out. I have since built our house on the property and would really like to get this pond back in order with some healthy, large bass. In high school and in college i would help my dad in fertilizing the pond and installing fish feeds. Unfortunately, we gradually quit doing that, but i plan to start back.
I have read where, on average, you need to remove 20lbs of bass per acre. Yesterday i fished with a beetle spin and in 2 hours i caught 17 bass and 4 bream. The total bass weight was 9.75lbs and the bream was 1.75 lbs. All of the bass were long and lean. 3 of the 4 bream were nice sized. I did throw back 1 bass that looked "good".
I know from reading that draining the pond or rotenoning the pond would be ideal, but given the current situation i do not think it would be feasable, nor would i want to attempt it! The pond is jointly owned by my family and 2 of my dads sisters, It would be a nightmare going through with that. I really would want to do this myself, along with some help, by fishing the bass out.
What advice can you all give me? To me, 20lbs an acre seems a little light. I don't think that will put a dent in the bass. I did see what looked to be a 4-5lb bass hanging out just off the bank yesterday. That gives me some hope. I would really like to get things back on track because i know that is what he (my grand dad) would want. Thanks in advance.