Originally posted by burgermeister:
. . . if the bass are hitting meat, they have got to be hungry. The crappie are out competing the bass for small BG. Sounds like you need to introduce lot of golden shiners and at least 1 more type minnow. Put up a blocking net in shallow water and let them spawn. ... With crappie, bass and large cats, you need more small forage.
Burgermeister, and others,
Thanks for the idea of the golden shiners. That may provide a little more food for the hungry bass. I'm on vacation next week, and not that far from a couple different hatcheries, so I can probably get it accomplished.
The square pond is exactly 1/2-acre, average depth about 6-feet, with a maximum of 9 feet. Except at the dam, the sides drop almost immediately to 3-feet, and fairly quickly to about 5-feet. Late last winter I intentionally dropped several small Virginia pines out into the pond for cover until I can get some decent structure installed. Their butt ends are on the shore and they extend about 10 to 15 feet straight out from the shoreline. Except for a dock, that is the only structure in the pond that I'm aware of. There isn't a bit of grass or weed anywhere. (Two of the big grass carp are next on the hit list.)
I think I can put a blocking net near my overflow area. I installed a fence at the pond edge there late last year to keep the grass carp in if it should ever overflow. The pond in that area drops off rather gradually.
Then I have a few questions that hopefully someone can help me with:
Should the fencing/netting be big enough to allow the golden shiners to go back and forth into the main part of the pond while I'm waiting for them to spawn?
Due to the lack of structure and weeds, would a pile of rocks be adequate for them to spawn on?
Would ten pounds of shiners be adequate to start with?
Are there any downsides or other worries about stocking golden shiners?
And, what about other additional forage? Fat heads maybe? Somewhere here on PondBoss I think I recall seeing concerns about accidentally introducing bullheads when stocking fat heads. If I buy from a reputable fishery (like Zett's in Inwood, WV) are the chances pretty good that their stocks are pure?
Again, I want to thank everyone for their assistance.
Ken
