Pond is 1/3 acre and very healthy with aeration. I have Perch, LMB, crayfish and bluegill in it. So as we get going this spring I can see im out of balance. I have a bunch of juvenile LMB. They are like 8+ inches and are traveling in schools. I see no little bluegill, just a few males that are too big for the bass to eat. There are a few bigger LMB, but not that many. So I put 2000 FHM in and they are gone. All of them. I watch these LMB hunt them in a pack style and it appears they gobbled them all up. At $80 per 1000 we gotta do something. Here are some pictures of them. I even pellet feed them. You will see in the pictures the minute the pellets hit the pond they come running. Im not there enough to feed them daily. I am also looking at getting a feeding timer for when im gone. My father in law has a pond a short distance away and he said I can fish all the blue gill I want out of it and put them in. Maybe to help the spawning. What do you think. I really dont want to take them out, the kids love watching them. i just want to help the balance. These guys are eating everything!! [img:center]IMG_0191 by jhaug37, on Flickr[/img]

[img:center]IMG_0188 by jhaug37, on Flickr[/img]

[img:center]IMG_0186 by jhaug37, on Flickr[/img]

is there any vegetation or cover for yoy fish in this pond? The photos make the pond look almost barren of weeds. That's tough if your goal is a balanced population. As you have discovered, adding forage (FHM) is temporary and expensive. I think you need to begin removing those plentiful size class of LMB. Adding adult BG might help if there is some cover for YOY fish.

+1 to what Sparkie said. In addition, are you sure you have any perch and crayfish left? IMHO I would also get some structure in there, vegetation and twiggy brush piles. I would then hit your FIL's pond and catch 100 BG of whatever size you can catch (making dang sure they are BG not something like GSF!).

I have a significant amount of homemade structure, pallets, cinder blocks etc. But I think the bass can probably get into most of them. The bg often make spawning beds and sit on them, but it appears the lmg either prevent the hatching or devour them immediately. I'm definitely going to fish in some blue gill next weekend.

FWIW IMO I would fish the BG with a long shank #8 hook and pinch the barb down. That will minimize damage to your new recruits with the small hook allowing you to catch YOY to large slot size.

That's a great idea I will do that. Is this normal for the lmb to be eating pellets? Or does it mean their very hungry and have nothing else? Thanks

Add some threadfin shad.

Add some golden shiners.

Add some trout.

Add some breeding size bluegill.


Plant some vegetation, even if that means in pots or other containers.

Fish out some bass, enjoy the meal, or donate them to a cause.

If it were me (and I'm definitely no expert) since the bass already seemed to be pellet trained, put in a feeder and turn them into lazy bass. Let them fill up on pellets and maybe at least some of the them will leave the forage fish alone. Put in a bunch of cedar trees or other similar fine, dense structure along the shoreline. Take the FIL up on the free BG offer and stock as many as you can catch.

+1000

The shad won't do him any good in Western New York. Its far too cold in the winter to expect any shad to survive.

New York also kills me with their view on Tilapia. There is no way in all of creation that a tilapia would ever survive a New York winter, but they are not allowed.

A decent amount of sizable tilapia could add a prolific amount of small food items to your food chain over the summer and provide a feast for your bass in the fall.

Therapist, welcome to ny! We have about 10 million other rules, regulations and taxes that don't make any sense either, but I'll try and stay on topic! What plants can I get potted to try and put in? I tried some before but they didn't take. I also thought about netting off a small section of the shallow end where I could put some of the forage fish in and contain them for a while. I don't know if that's effective.

If you've gotten the LMB to take pellets, you can keep up-ing the size of the feed until they are eating Aquamax Largemouth, and get crazy growth.

I've been told that once the LMB get to about 3 lbs., they will need bluegill to continue their growth.

$80/1000 for FHM?!?!?!? Wow...that is almost $30 per pound! $10-$12/lb is average.

My "suggestion" would be a small jig and fishing out 200-300 or so juvenile LMB per acre

All - remember this is a Northern fishery, where BG have the upper hand - not like Southern fisheries. Before you start adding dense shallow cover which will result in higher numbers of YOY BG surviving which could lead to BG population issue down the road, I would employ Rex' advice and begin removing LMB.

Of course, any advice needs to be tempered by your stated goals. If you want a trophy BG fishery, you are well on your way there. I imagine your adult BG will grow to trophy status soon with zero competition on resources, if they aren't trophies already.

Unbalanced ponds often fit with owner's goals. What are your goals, specifically, for each fish species? This will provide the information necessary to provide direction.

TJ asks the right questions: trophy panfish, large bass, "the kids love watching them(LMB), or just a balance with general fishing??? Which is most important? Your situation is not uncommon. When you are not there daily watching and managing, you can basically have, with close mgmt, only one of the above. Decide and advice can get more specific.

I agree with the above posts. Bill brings up a good point on what "balance" actually means. I guess ill have to think about that a little more. Im not there all the time so I cant manage daily. I am trying to do a lot as I get there weekly, hence the aeration, feeders etc., but exactly what im looking to do is a better question. Another would be is it even possible when your not there all the time. i guess I thought there was something wrong when 1000 minnows went missing in a real short period of time. On a side note, Rainman alluded to the fact the minnow cost was real expensive. Anyone in my area(WNY) get them cheaper, or at the cost you referred to? I go to a reputable fishery and thats his price, $80 per 1000.

Balance in ponds , especially with BG and LMB is commonly referred to as trying to balance on a knife's edge. A pond tries to go unbalanced in one direction BG crowded or the other LMB crowded. Staying near the middle is a challenge but can be done with work and understanding.

Balance of fishes in the pond can mean several different things or ratio of predators versus prey based on ones goals. For example the balance will be different for a trophy panfish pond compared to a trophy bass pond.