Trying to help out a friend, this pond was originally a half acre in size and has just recently been dug out to 1.5 acres at its deepest it is 10ft. It is located 50 mi West of San Antonio. It always has water running through it feed by a natural spring and a creek. How much time does the pond need to settle? As for stocking he would like to follow a management and stocking program for trophy bass. There was already LMB in the original .5 acre pond up to 3 lbs and BG up to 6 in. There a few carp and gar in there washed in there from the creek. What would be the best management plan to follow for raising trophy bass? It has a lot of structure already there and added.
Cont.
What would be the best combination of forage fish and LMB to stock? Also what needs to be done to maintain this type of management each year, fish removed, forage species added,how much to feed, and is there a specific time of year it needs to be stocked.
What size LMB does he consider to be a "Trophy"?
For this pond he would like a trophy LMB to be around 7 lbs. He would rather have a higher number of large LMB to catch vs say having one 9 or 10 pounder for every five 7 pounders. This is not an exact ratio just giving an example.
Thanks, Chase
Expect a 1.5 acre pond to produce between 75-150 pounds of bass, with it more likely producing 75 pounds unless it it heavily managed with high quality water, habitat and forage production or a heavy feeding program.
Very hard to grow very many 5+ pound bass in a 1.5 acre pond and expect them not to get VERY hook shy and nearly impossible to catch within a few years.
CJ, Thanks for bringing me back to reality, and a realistic carrying capacity. Well is there somewhere that has a basis for pond management and stocking, along with continued management for years after. I understand that every pond has to be managed individually and no two ponds are managed the exact same, but I'm just looking to help my friend manage his to its highest potential.
I'd buy the 2nd, 3rd and 4th books.
Pond Boss Store - Books
This reminds me that it is a lot easier to stock a pond then it is to manage it.
Thanks, I will let him know. I am going to get some copy's my self. This may a dumb question but is electroshocking the best way to survey a pond, and is it nessecary more than once a year.
"Best"? I think it all depends on what fish are in there, and the water quality. It sure is probably the fastest way. It isn't required to do it even once a year. It all depends on your goals for the pond, and the depths of your pockets.
For the average pond owner, the easiest fish combination to create quality angling, eating and pleasure for all is the HBG, CC, HSB pond. Adding a few RES in is fine as well.
All three species takes to pellets readily, are good to eat, are fun to catch and don't overpopulate if managed correctly... And managing them correctly is quite easy compared to most other fish combinations.
The fact that all take to pellets means you can pack more pounds per acre than many other fish species. The fact that they don't readily reproduce in ponds means you can precisely control their numbers.
All have fast growth rates with feeding, producing good sized fish in 3 years of less. High turn over rates means you can quickly replace fish caught for the table and keep hook shyness to a minimum.
However, the LMB is king and most pond owners want them in their ponds. If one could readily source single sex LMB readily, it would make their management much easier.
Esshup, the pond I had in mind is about .5 acres probaly has a avg depth of 6ft and is 12ft at the deepest.
CJ will proly be sticking with LMB but that is an interesting plan. Sorry I'm a newbie to these abbreviations was that hybrid bluegill, channel cats, and hybrid striped bass.
Yes, those are the correct fish. If you go the LMB route, see if you source feed trained bass...
Electro fishing is, like a lot of other stuff, just a tool for pond management and knowledge. Like most tools, it has its limitations.
A log of every fish caught is also a tool. I like it.
I like the idea of logging every caught, will have to start doing that.