Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Help ME get our POND BACK!!

Here is the information on my grandparents 18 acre pond.

There was an original 5 acre pond created sometime in the 70's. It had became over grown with lilly pads in the early 90's. At this time my grandpa had hired some guys to come in and dig out the pond. They first drained the pond to a small area, and then began to dig it out, and dam up for what is now the existing pond of 18 acres. After a few months the pond had filled to its full potential due to rain and the incoming creek that ran thru the pond. It was completed in the fall of 1996. We had planned on stocking the pond within the next year, but never got it done. In the spring of 1998 my uncle decided to fish the pond to see if there may have been any fish in there that had been left over from the previous pond.(which had been drained to a very small pond.) He caught around 30 fish in a short period of time. So, we decided not to stock the pond. From 1998-2006 the pond was like a dream. Two people could go out there for a three hour period and catch 60-80 fish and 15-20 would be around 3 pounds and 4 or 5 around 5-6 pounds. During this time my grandpa did not want anyone to keep any fish out of the pond. Which I knew was a mistake, but it was his pond. In 2007 it was like a night and day difference. We were catching very few 3+ pound fish but still catching the 60-80 fish, this continued for about 3 years. After my grandpa passed away me and my uncle have tried to start managing the pond better. In 2010 we began keeping every fish under 13 inches. In 2010 we kept about 200 LMB, in 2011 we kept about 300 LMB. In 2012 we were seeing no results so, we contacted Arkansas Game and Fish, and they came out and did an electro shock on the pond, Just as suspected there growth was stunted. They pulled up 86 bass and 95% were in the 12-13 inch slot. They offered some tips on improvement and that is why I am here. I want to verify that these things are accurate and if anyone has any other tips. Before I get into my questions I want to talk about the pond at present time. In 2012 we kept about 400 LMB. In 2013 we also kept another 400LMB.In these years we were still seeing no result in size, but instead of catching 60 LMB we are now only catching 30 LMB. The fish in the pond are fat and healthy looking but just not growing. We applied 100 pound of Pond Pro last week. There are perch and crappie in the pond, they are all extremely large. Game and Fish suggested fertilizing, adding bait fish and taking out 400 pounds of LMB. I agree with this, but these are some of the questions I have.
Now to my questions?

How long does it take to see a difference in the water clarity from the fertilizer?

Do y'all believe we are taking enough fish out of the pond?

Are we taking toomany fish out?(b/c we were catching 60 and now only catching 30 or so)

Do we need to take out more of the small fish before stocking the pond with blue gill or other baitfish?

How long does it typically take to see a difference in bass growth?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

I left out some important information about the water clarity. 2 weeks ago the clarity was 36 inches.
How many applications does it typically take to get to the desired level of 18-24 inches.

An 18 acre lake is going to take alot of fertilizing and managing for that fact..

So would you say your main goal is large/trophy bass?

Also it kinda goes hand in hand you can have alot of small bass that are easier to catch or you can have lower number of very nice large bass lower numbers making them harder to catch..

Basically what's your real goals with the pond and we can get you in a good directions..

Also if you have a full report from the electrosurvey post it some of the guys can give you great info based on them results..

The goal is to be able to catch 20 or so bass, but have the opportunity to catch large bass as well. Just really wanting a good mix. I know a good mix doesn't allow to go out and catch 60 fish, and I am ok with that, I just want to have good quality of fish. The application rate on the pond pro was 4-5 pounds per acre and we put out 100 pounds. So, that should be enough for 20-25 acres which our pond is only 18. How often should I fertilize.
Yes I do have the electro shock papers but they are currently with my uncle. I will get those papers this weekend and upload them to this post.

Before you put any more fertilizer into the pond, get the water tested if you haven't had it done already. Alkalinity, if below 20 is a limiting factor in establishing a bloom, even if all the correct nutrients are there.

PH was 6.8 I have not had the Alkalinity tested.