Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Trying to get some ideas

Just ran across this site and its amazing. Im from southeastern iowa and am kinda spoiled as i have about 12 farm ponds within a few miles of my house that i love to fish and the farmers don't mind. Currently im in iraq and am wanting to get some info on pond management as many of the ponds in my area are seldom fished and sadly a few of them are silting and becoming shallow. I would like to improve these ponds for my son when he gets older. So my first round of many questions is on one pond in partcular. Its a small pond about 2 acres its very clear water but also thick vegitation on the floor about a 2-3 foot thick from what i learned when i went to swim in in last summer. The problem is the only thing i've ever caught outa it is small bass and alot of them around 6-10 inchs long. What would be a good way to improve the size and poplulation of fish in the pond when i get home in a few months. Any help is greatly appreciated as im new to this.

Well Buddeboy, you found the right place. Welcome to Pond Boss, we're glad you found us.

First and foremost make sure you get permission from the pond owners before you do anything. That goes without saying and I'm sure you've already considered it but I felt the need to say it anyway.

Second there are many great books and publications related to ponds. Bob Lusk's "Perfect Pond, Want One?" is a great resource.

Third you and the pond owner need to establish some goals for the pond. What species of fish you desire, are you gearing more for trophy sized LMB or just good overall fishing, etc.

Fourth, before make any changes you need to determine what you're working with. If at all possible you need to get some handle on what species of fish are already in the pond and in approximately what quantity.

Beyond that I'll leave it to the experts.

Thank you for your service to our country, it is greatly appreciated.

All of JHAP's points are very good...

The pond you mention with many 6"-10" bass sounds like the classic over populated bass pond. This is very common for small private ponds. The first step is to start removing as many of the small bass as you can catch. As you make progress you can start adding forage.

A seine survey is invaluable to learn the dynamics of the ponds you manage. Do some research on this site. There is a ton of info hidden on the many posts. When I first found the site it seemed overwhelming to sift through it all, but there is tons of great info...

BB, welcome to Pond Boss. Too many small bass means not enough forage. Forage generally means bluegill. The pond is way out of balance with those catch numbers.

Here are the numbers. It takes 10 pounds of forage for a bass to grow one pound and they generally eat forage that is 1/4 to 1/3 their body size/length.

Water quality is key to bluegill growth and survival. You should have about 18 to 24 inches of visibility. Get a white disk about the size of 5 gallon bucket top. Poke a hole in it, run a piece of cord through it, and add a weight. When you can no longer see the white thing, measure the cord where it disappeared. That will be an indicator of your plankton base. Phytoplankton is the basis of the food chain. Gin clear water may look good but has nothing that a small fish needs.

The books JHAP mentions will be invaluable. Don't be reading them when you're wearing your hard hat. Come on back to us and that boy safe and sound.

Making that my 13th good post and that ain't bad, I'm shooting for 20 good posts by year end but don't get your hopes up too high.

You would have more but we subtract one for every 500 bad ones.

Great, now I'll never get the gold watch for the 50 good posts milestone.