Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Analyze This: 2008 Seine Results

Team Gallus got out the 25 foot seine August 17 and ran it through our 2 ponds.

NEW POND (0.45 acres, FHM, Gams, adult RES and male BG currently stocked, YP and SMB due this Fall):
Gambusia. Lots and lots of Gambusia. And ONLY Gambusia.

I have pretty much given up hoping the the RES introduced last Spring pulled off a successful spawn. No YOY Lepomis have been observed or (now) seined in the new pond. The Redears should be in good shape for a spawn next Spring since they will be overwintering outside instead of in my basement.

No FHM seined, even though they are definitely present as proven by minnow trapping. I NEVER see the Fatheads up on top anymore - either they have plenty to keep them busy farther down, or the Gams have them cowed. Fish Wife speculates perhaps a (relatively) small number of YOY RES may be hiding out down deep as well. I DID transplant 2 gravid RES from the main pond before they had spawned there this year. (I guess I haven't completely given up hope.)

BIG PLUS: The 4' deep, very level "seining flats" we designed into the new pond are WONDERFUL! The entire deepwater side of the seine hauls were without dropoffs, obstacles (well, there were a couple of rootballs that had floated and sank in the way that had to be moved), or other problems. I am VERY glad I had the flats built in.

OLD POND (0.9 acre, BG/RES/LMB/CC/GC/HSB/about 500 Gams and 50 FHM transplanted this year, managed bass crowded for big bream):
Tons of small (mostly 2008 YOY) 1" - 3" BG/RES. Several YOY LMB. No Golden Shiners - haven't seen any via any method for about 2 years; they are most likely completely gone.

Surprises: 3 intermediate LMB (8"-10") caught - looked fat in the brief glimpses we got before they vamoosed over the edge of the net. Very few intermediate-sized (4" - 6") bream seined; 3 or 4 BG only. Two years ago I would have gotten 6-10 intermediate RES and many intermediate BG from this much seining. The few intermediate BG we got were nice and fat.

I surmize the large numbers of LMB have nearly wiped out the intermediate size of BG and RES. Bream left in that size have plenty to eat while growing through it and after getting too big for the bass to eat. I think I will lessen my efforts to thin intermediate BG by angling, perhaps limiting it to removing obvious poor performers that are thin. I am also trying a little harder to maintain a LMB population not big enough to easily eat BG that I want to eat myself - my theoretical upper limit on LMB size is 15" or 16". I have a soft spot for the largest bass (19" +) but the 17" - 18" bass are coming out more often from now on.

If I have a bunch of pictures still in the camera and need to see if there are any good ones to post.

"If I have a bunch of pictures still in the camera and need to see if there are any good ones to post."

Silly, silly man.

Because I know you, I know you were wearing a life preserver, and that in itself will provide weeks of enjoyment and good collage work.

Hard to tell the full story based on just seine results. Creel info would help us move from a super WAG to a WAG.

On the new pond my guess is those RES reproduced and they have moved out of the shallow water to deeper cool water around the woody structure where the snails and inverts are.

On the big pond it sounds like some change is occurring in the LMB BG balance. Sounds like the bigger LMB and Theo are eating the medium BG. Seine results often don't sample larger fish ( 4+ inches) well.

Eric, I haven't fished any in the new pond.

In the big pond, 235 BG caught so far this year (151 removed) in about 35 hours of fishing (CPUE = 6.7 BG/hr). Roughly 1/3 were over the limit, 7.5" for males and 8" for females. About 1/2 were within what I consider eating sizes, 6" to the above 7.5"/8". About 1/6 were under 6" in length.

For 2007, 417 BG caught (240 removed) in 48 hours of fishing (CPUE = 8.7 BG/hour). Size ratios per slot were about the same, 1/3 over 7.5" (no sex difference in the slot last year), 1/2 6" to 7.5", and 1/6 under 6".

2006: 491 BG caught (171 removed) in 91 hours (CPUE = 5.4 BG/hr). I don't have as good a data on size structure for 2006. Maximum Length has gone up 3/4" per year; "commonly encountered" large size about the same amount. The number of real small (<5") BG caught has gone down significantly every year


Tonight Theo (with help) ate a couple of the larger bass.

The seining crew tackles the big pond:


A haul of small BG:


Half of the Gambusia transferred from the new pond to the big pond:


Okay, Little Brother, do your worst:

Thanks for the awesome report! Good pictures, too.

I've been doing some interesting things at my ponds, but I've been too busy to make a nice post about it. I hope to have time eventually.

Theo:
Can you talk a bit more about the size range of the BG/RES you eat. Assume you're eating the medium ones, 6" to 8", but do the larger ones reach a point that you figure you might as well eat him since he will die soon of old age anyway?

Sometimes, when I've had a rough day at work, and the world seems just too much, I like to go home and wade in my pond with all of my clothes on. Someone once suggested that I wear a bathing suit, but I couldn't understand why one would wear a suit to take a bath?

he didnt want his warts and calloses removed

i think in that bucket shot theres one bigger fish in there thats not a mosquito fish.

Schroeder:

Dr. Condello says my largest BG appear fairly young. I figure they have some years of growing left to do, so I do not remove any of the largest BG unless they were foul-hooked (none this year, fingers crossed) or are males I am moving to the new pond as a bonus fish.

I will be fin-clipping male BG in the new pond differently each year, so I should be able to tell how long they have been in there when recaught in the future. Then I will have to make the eat/release/return to main pond for broodstock decision based on size, condition, and estimated age.

P.S. Once the largest BG size stabilizes somewhat, I may have useful info along these lines.

The very biggest little fish in the bucket were large, extremely pregnant Gambusia. It's not very apparent from a top view, but glaringly obvious from the sides.

I think Gambusia tried to nibble at me when I was in the new pond, but the water clouded up to much for visual confirmation.

One sure looks like a lepomis.

The most amazing thing about this thread is not the fish or ponds but how much those kids have grown.

Well, now I'm gonna have to go back a blow up the original pic and look closely. I thought it was being compared to a Fathead.

Kids are like fish, keep feeding them and they keep growing.

I need some help here. I don't do collage work.

You don't have a collage degree?

This is as big as the biggest fish in the bucket gets.

I think I see a pregnant Gambusia belly, especially towards the right. OTOH, maybe a RES ???

No I don't. You must be gaining some serious respect around here; or maybe, people are starting to dislike you so much that they DON'T want to make fun of you.

What's the saying....Mockery is the sincerest form of flattery?

Or is it.....If you like someone, make fun of them?

Both scary propositions.