The quick answer is to cull 14 inch and under bass.
However, there's more to it than that. The biggest wild card is the forage base that makes up the predator/prey ratio. And, it doesn't pay to add more groceries that will immediately be eaten. It's what we call an expensive snack.
The crappie can be a problem. Like a bass, they have a hinged jaw and compete directly with the bass for food. And, since they spawn earlier than bass, they take first shot at the small fish that will never get big enough to feed your big bass. Cull every crappie that you catch.
Take some time to get to know the ponds. Keep a log of all fish caught but pay a lot of attention to water quality and forage. Look at the ratio of length vs weight of fish caught. It's called RW or WR and can be found on lakework.com.
Take a sample of the water and have it tested. Texas A&M and others do that. Not sure about your area. If you are in pine tree country, the water might need to be limed and/or fertilized.
But, the biggest issue is generally the forage base. A couple of old adages is that a bass needs to eat 10 pounds of forage to gain 1 pound. And, that forage needs to between 1/4 and 1/3 the body length of the bass. The size matters because it's a matter of energy expended vs calories gained.
So, at this time I wouldn't undertake a management program until I had a better understanding of what I needed to manage.
BTW, welcome to PB and pond ownership. Yeah, subscribe to the mag. It answers questions that we never think to ask and helps pay the bills here.
Last edited by Dave Davidson1; 11/06/15 04:58 PM.
