WDD Here:
Just signed up last week. I just purchased a 10 acre piece of land in LA ( Lowe Alabama). It has 1.5 acre pond on it. It has some LMB and perch and a few catfish I saw when I put some pellets out. The previous owners did not do much with the pond so I am going to have to get it going in the right direction This is my first time for having something with a pond on it. I have been lurking on the site and decided it was time to reach out to others and I see a fountain of information here on this site. I look forward to getting my pond to be productive and as my grandsons grow they will have a place to fish. Thanks in advance for all the good advice that is here. WDD

Welcome. First thing you can do is catch a few of those panfish "perch" so we have an idea exactly what they are. Best way to catch some of those sunfish is get some earth worms on a small hook under a thin bobber and get the kids to fish it 2-4ft deep. Then post the close up side fish view pictures or provide a link to a website location for those pictures. Southern name of "perch" could be one or a combination of sunfish species including hybrid sunfish. We we have a better idea of what sunfish types you have, it will help with providing the best information of your best management methods to use to achieve your goals for the fish in the pond. Second thing to do is to decide on what your goals are most important for the pond. The we will help you manage in that direction.

Bill:
Thanks for the response. I look forward to getting time to see what I have in the pond. I know there is a big catfish I saw that is going to be dinner sooner than he thinks. I will see what I have in there.
I posted a image to the gallery of my pond. It is WDD-Bamkota pond. Thanks again for the support.

In addition to fishing you can do just what you did - look closely and see what you can in the way of numbers and size of the fish you see. Take notes while you watch. You can look at pics of fish in the archives for BG , RES, GSF , HBG etc . See here and we can provide other links.

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=92482#Post92482

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=451244#Post451244

BG

Welcome WDD to the forum and good luck with your new property and pond.

Welcome from deep east Texas!! Don't forget to subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine. As a new pond owner, you will love it!!

Welcome WDD. You've got the attention of the best resources you'll ever find to help you reach your goals. I'm guessing what you call perch in Alabama and what I call perch here in Iowa are two different fish, but forage fish just the same. Best of luck!!!