Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Pond Declining Population

A dozen large GC in 1/2 acre is a lot of Grass Carp.

To remove most of them you will probably have to use assorted methods, because they are fairly wary after one of their kind has been messed with. I have hooked several and landed one on worms; IIRC someone successfully used cherry tomatoes as bait for GC.

They should be attracted easily to pelleted fish food (especially since I bet yours are hungry, from the description) and then shot with gun or bow at close range. I think if I were trying to elimininate them through angling I would keep a 12 gauge handy and shoot them rather than trying to land them. Once they get 5 feet or so from the fisherman, they seem to realize there's a problem and all their available power gets used fighting the line.

As many ideas as you get here, try them all and report back on effectiveness.

WRT restocking or not after reducing the GC - the BG and LMB in the pond would be able to bring both populations back up to chock full, assuming they are not way out of balance. OTOH, you may want to freshen your gene pools with new stockers, or add other species like RES or HSB at that time. "It all depends upon your goals."