Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Help

I have read a lot of posts here, looks like a great site. I have a 1/2 acre pond about 16'+ deep. I tried to manage it to get big lmb, by putting in fatheads and blue gills . It seems before I started this I had large bass heads w/skinny body, but still caught 5 pounders. I also attempted to take anything 12" or smaller out for the last 2 years approx. 30+ a year.
What I see this spring is Large BG spawning the edges and alot of small lmb, have only caught a few 2 lb'ers. Can anyone point me in the right direction
on how to get the bass larger?

Thanks in advance Scott

1) "Let the fish tell you how to manage" is advice often given (and correctly so). Skinny bass size classes that have low relative weight need to be thinned to allow them more food per fish to resume growth. So the smallest bass may not have been (what / all that) you needed to remove.

With a 1/2 acre pond, your bass carrying capacity is not all that large - perhaps 50 lbs. If you have 5 pounders in there, even if they are skinny, it doesn't take too many of them to hit the ceiling on capacity. I think some of the 5 pounders - preferably the skinniest - should be removed to provide more meals of appropriate size for the remaining lunkers.

2) With an established large bass population, adding FHM is a very cost ineffective way to feed the bass. They will not be able to establish a breeding minnow population, so all they can do is provide a small snack for the bass (and probably for the smaller bass). Do you feed? Feeding the BG would increase their biomass, resulting in more and/or bigger BG for the bass to eat. This is a much more cost effective way to add more pounds of bass to the pond.

3) If you don't have a copy of Lusk's "Raising Trophy Bass" book, buy one. Bob's little finger knows more about raising big bass than most of us forum members put together.

Welcome scott83.

I agree that Lusk's book "Raising Trophy Bass" covers all of the above questions. It's a great read.

Thanks for the advice , sounds like I need to have a few neighbors over for a fish fry. I will get his book also, I have feed for the fish just unsure if it was correct( the food stays on top the water doesn't seem the fish eat it), also I was going to try to introduce threadfin shad, but have heard good and bad about this. I guess I'll read first then act, thanks again