I am about to restock one of my ponds I have access too (Fathers land).

Before the drought hit and drained the pond it was full of bass, too many in fact. They were heavily stunted.




this was due to my strict catch and release policy due to not liking to eat fish, I don't even hunt and grew up on a farm!

It was also stocked with hybrid bluegill, something it will definetly not have now.

Anyway as I do not eat fish I am looking for a way to cull them from our pond as we catch them.

I dislike the idea of just throwing them on the bank, it seems like its just robbing nutrients from the pond when it could go back in. Also I dont want to be attracting predators to the pond with rotting fish carcasses laying on the bank.

Is there any way to return what ive taken from the pond back to the pond? I saw one time a post about throwing the fish you catch into a basket suspeneded over the pond, the fish would decay and anything that fell into the pond, scraps and maggots would become food for the forage fish. Is this a viable option?

Or any suggestions?

I've been catching small GSF and bullheads in my old pond, kill them, and toss them back in for the 15 CC I recently put in there. I figure if the CC don't get to them first, about a 12" snapping turtle that's in there will.

I figure the GSF and bullheads have been eating my protien via the fish food I feed the fish with, so the protein can go back to the CC now.

But I would be leery of doing too much of that at one time. If you have bigger fish it might foul the water if too much was returned at one time. My GSF and bullheads are like 4"-5" and I mash them first so guts are hanging out. If you have CC you could cut the larger fish up in bite size chunks first and not feed too much at a time. If you don't have catfish, probably not a good idea.

Also it depends on if your pond has too much or too little nutrients to begin with. Is that FA I see in the picture? In my big pond I likely would not do what I'm doing in the old pond, because the old pond can use the nutrients, where my big pond has an excess as it is.

It will be interesting to see what the experts say, as I'm not one of them. It is just what I started doing because like you, I hated to see the fish just go to waste. But it would take probably 20 of the fish I been returning to the water as feed make up one of the LMB you were holding up.

Kind of like he said but changing the words a little...... Build the fishery to stay more in balance. Then nothing will grow to true potential but nothing will stunt as bad as that. Try BG yp lmb possible cc and diversify the the bait to help eat fry. Golden shiners should be a staple. Larger forage fish chubs shiners suckers. Not a perfect t fishery but might be perfect for yo u.

Even the Godfather of Catch and Release, Ray Scott of B.A.S.S. fame readily states that catch and release is not for ponds. Where you are dealing with larger lakes C&R makes sense. Not in ponds. Most pond owners who want a well balanced fishery or a "lunker" pond remove most or all bass under a certain length, generally around 14 inches, and all bass that do not measure up well against standards.

Don't worry about not having nutrients in the pond. Seeing the Filamentous algae in the picture means to me that there are plenty of nutrients in there.

Do you have any friends that might want fish dinner? Fill a cooler full of ice, throw the fish in there and take them to your friends. Just remind them to wash out the cooler before giving it back to you. Dont ask.....................

Esshup, this pond drains our pastures full of cattle, and drains the pwns we feed in as well.

Is there anything to control the FA? Fish to stock? Plants to stock to help absorb some nutrients before the FA can?

I think I will just be giving fish away or cutting it up and throwing it back in from the sounds of it!!!

Is tilapia legal to stock there?

I agree, check to see if Tilapia are legal. They will help the LMB grow too.

Any plants that grow in the pond will utilize the nutrients, cutting back on the nutrients available for FA. It's a 2 edged sword tho, as too many plants make fishing hard and the forage fish have more area to hide from LMB. When the plants die back in the fall, they consume O2 so you want to watch O2 levels, especially during the winter.

DB, Tilapia are indeed legal for pond stocking in Kansas, and do a great job at 40 pounds per acre in the upper 4/5 of the state and 30 pounds near the OK border.

If you have catfish, cut the gills and toss them back in the pond, but I feel removal from the watershed is best. Perhaps kids from a church group or boy scouts could be invited for a day or two of fishing to remove lots of excess fish annually...?

Rainman, whats 30lbs gonna run me and wheres the closest you get to Wichita?

If I understand correctly Tilapia will need restocked yearly correct?

I sent you a PM for my Blues on prices, and to answer your question on annual stocking....Yes you want Tilapia to die each year, or they would likely overpopulate and harm the other fish....by dying in the fall of the year, they improve the numbers and health of all other fish species in the pond.