Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Results of Electo-shock Survey

lol......2 years? really? a lot has happened to dad's pond in 2 years. Ugh, pike........don't add pike...it will not solve your problems!

Hey Teehjaeh, thanks again for the advice. Electro-shocking didn't work in bringing up any GC last fall. We spotted only one that day but couldn't get close enough to it. I think only 4 or 5 remain in the pond. It has finally become difficult to scare any up. Also, we plan to put up a second snow-fence type barrier at the other end of the lake where GC will be excluded and weeds should thrive. It will be a lot larger than the area shown in the picture at the beginning of the post. At a minimum age of 23, I really think the GC are on the way out.

Based on your advice and the advice of others here, I'll be getting at least one directional feeder to grow the BG and help them with reproduction.

I'll do everything in my power to remove the white crappie through angling. I noticed that as I fished for them the entire year last season, their numbers were dropping. By late fall I could catch only 1 per hour of fishing. That rate was a lot slower than the dozen per hour I caught in the spring. And, the WC that I did catch were significantly larger than they were in the spring. I think I'm gaining the upper hand in controlling their numbers.

One thing I hope is that these posts serve as a lesson to anyone who thinks that they can add large numbers of GC, or introduce WC, without a solid knowledge of pond dynamics.

Get dense cover established in shallow water [3-6'] for your panfish. Cedar trees tied to cinder block are free and easy to use - you want up to 20% of your lake with shallow structure. Use groups of 3-5 trees per location. This will provide habitat/protection for your panfish to grow, and the forage base will improve as a result - meaning your topline predators will also benefit.

Not an overnight process - but it's an exciting adventure/project and you have hundreds of friends here to help you along the way who have faced similar challenges and achieved their goals. I owe everything I know about pond management to this forum!

Some great advice you have gotten.
My quick two cents.

Year 1:
more dense habitat to protect YOY BG. What about spawning sites? If not good spawning habitat add this as well.
Heavy harvest of WC make effort to go after em and remove all caught, and selective harvest of LMB- target might be 200 lbs initially. Check the relative weight of the bass. This can be a gauge of your mgmt plan success.
Setup of two feeders my rec Texas Hunter, need to add in cost of solar panel also. Use Aquamax as stated.
Methods to encourage vegetation growth
These efforts should increase forage base and decrease predator base.
Year 2:
Monitor the relative weight on the bass has it improved any? What about crappie catching less are they bigger as well? If not aggressive harvest continues.
Consider stocking GShiners at a medium size 3-4 inch minimum. 175 lbs is a good number. DO NOT STOCK FHM waste of money, my opinion of course. If the bluegill population is still lacking stock 1500 4-5 inch bluegill to more quickly improve this population as mentioned backbone of bass growth.
Year 3:
Another feeder, aeration, harvest, monitor growth ( tagging) etc. Start catching nice bass.

Thanks Tee and Greg! It's a plan. As for cedar trees, I can't say there are many of them here in Ohio. We do have tons of dead or dying ash trees due to the emerald ash bore beetle. We can definitely sink plenty of brush with cinder blocks.

As for BG spawning sites, there are 7 spots that come to mind that the BG have been using for the past 25 years. One of the spots has pea gravel, but any one of the areas could be hot, depending on the week. They spawn starting May 7 and continue until around the end of July with a peak around June 1st. Sometimes those spots can produce really healthy and heavy BG. The grandaughters and I had one terrific time fighting them last Memorial Day. I think the spawning areas are OK. I'm always open to suggestions on improving them though.

Checking the reative weight of LMB and BG isn't difficult. The bass are at only 87% now and the BG are about 97%.

Let's see how things improve over the next few years. I can't thank all of you enough!

Sandman as to your WC problem and catching them - I have BC here in Wisconsin and since they spawn in spring that is the best time to catch them.

I would suggest sleeping on the water late April into May maybe more April for your State. For me in 2010, May 12th in central WI we were able to catch 67 BC in 2 hours time. As you said in fall they are harder to catch.

Allmad, Oh great. I used to look at my lake property as a getaway. If you've been following this thread, you'll see it's turning into a full time job.

I'll bet your WC are tastier than my WC. All I can do with them is make crappie cakes. With enough other ingredients, they're edible.

Meant to say that your BC are tastier than my WC.