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

What do you guys consider the right length for removing bass? As a guideline I've heard 12-15 inches.

get ready for it....................

It depends!

what are you trying to acheive with your pond and or Bass....

The experts will offer some suggestions.......

Well first off I know I have too many bass. So I need to get as many out as I can. Really I just want to have quality bass. I'm not trying to produce world record bass. I would much rather have quality over quantity. So removing bass and keeping ample forage is what I'm concerened about. But I have no clue as to what size bass need to removed.

Anything under about 14 inches. However, if you find one that is a little below that line but is in really good shape, I might keep it.

It's not the size, it's the weight. Look in the archives for the relative weight chart for LMB. If your LMB are stunted (under RW by a lot) then remove around 30# per surface acre this year of the LMB that are 15% - 20% (or more) underweight for their length. Wait a month or so after they've gone off the beds to get a more representative weight.

I would keep the size of bass that are your most abundant, 12-15" is a good guideline but removing some smaller and some larger might be required. As Bill Cody would say, "it depends..."

I found the chart. Thanks for the info guys. I'll post back what I find. Is this a pretty common problem?

More common than you realize. In my personal pond, I fight it constantly. C&R is nice, but LMB can overeat their food source pretty quickly. It takes approximately 10 pounds of fish to put one pound of weight on one LMB. That's why pond owners with LMB in their ponds need to stay on top of them and watch their condition.

I would consider any LMB under 8-9" in length as potential forage if larger LMB are present.

So do you over stock you baitfish? Or just try to keep them breeding good and protected?

Breeding good and fewer predators competing to eat the baitfish.

I'm working on both of those. Building structure for baitfish out of pallets and other things I can find.

What kind of forage base do you have?

Fat head minnows and BG. There's some other kind of perch as well. I don't think it's red ear. But the bass have put a hurtin on the BG. I want to stock tilapia after I get the bass under control. But at this point pretty much everything is just an idea until I get the bass under control.

The fathead minnows won't last, they are not very predator smart. I would concentrate on feeding your BG and improving spawning areas for the BG, pea gravel in shallow water works well.

I sort of inherited the same type pond. Bass heavy because no one has been fishing it. I took the advice of these great guys. Getting smaller bass out makes good sense. The less bass in the pond, the more food for the other bass. And its free and its fun.

But this is for what you want, bigger bass.

I think the experts that want really big bluegills say keep small bass in the pond.

Yeah I've gotten a lot of great ideas of spawning structure from here! Tons go good advice. It used to have black crappie but I haven't caught any in a good while. As far as forage for bass besides tilapia any ideas? After I get the bass under control obviously.

Lots of good ideas on here about bass forage. Golden shiners, crayfish, frogs, etc. Obviously your bass are eating bluegills. In a well balanced pond, just LMB and BGs, sometimes a bass can get up over 10 lbs, even in a small pond.

I have no clue about tilapia for LMB forage.

Srj79, What state are you talking about?

Texas, the reason I said tilapia is because I have read on here that they can help control FA. And reproduce a lot. It's a 1 acre pond.

Tilapia usually die out in the fall once water temperatures fall below a certain point. I believe it is in the range of 50-55 degrees F. Somehow one who has more experience can answer this better.

Tilapia also convert biomass into weight. They have a similar body shape to a bluegill. So adding them is making your pond more efficient essentially. They also take pressure off of the bluegill by giving the bass another food source.

I didn't realize they died off that easily. So what are people doing, just restocking every year?

if you want bigger bass, the only thing i might add to this is to start getting rid of male fish every year when the fish spawn. first, a male bass really never has much of a chance of reaching lunker status. 5-6 pounds is very big for a male fish as opposed to the possibility of 8-10+ for females. the males are just robbing forage that the females could be using for nourishment and growth. second, if you cut down on the number of males, there should be less reproduction which means less small fish that will eventually have to be harvested.

the prime time to cull males is during the spawn since the male is usually the one that plays a primary role in nest defense. living in TX though, your fish are probably already post-spawn. but next year, you might wanna catch as many males off beds as possible. just a thought. good luck.

That makes sense. What's the best way to tell them apart? Because I've heard tons of ways but have no idea if they hold up.

Yes. They see the advantages and willing to pay the cost.

generally the male will be the smaller of the pair on a nest. In many cases he may be the only fish on the nest. females generally hang around on the outskirts of the nest rather than on it unless they are actually "in the act" of spawning. the male will also be the most aggressive 9 times out of 10. usually if you fish a bed and get one to bite, it's going to be the male. however, bed fishing is an entirely different animal than "regular" fishing (particularly if you use artificial baits) and requires an ability to "read" a fish's body language and ultimately aggravate it into striking. it can be very frustrating until you figure out the game.

fortunately there is another great time to target the male bass and that is right after the spawn. the males will guard the fry for a few days when they hatch. if you find a fry cloud, chances are there is a male bass lurking nearby ready to pounce on anything that might be a threat to his youngsters. good luck.