Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations 1/3 acre pond - all green sunfish

There is a local stormwater pond here in Virginia that I only recently fished, and caught a bunch of 2-4" green sunfish. The pond is about a 1/3 acre, and I estimate is about 6 feet deep at the overflow. There is a fountain in the middle of the pond. The banks are riprap. The pond gets some garbage thrown in it, mostly soda bottles and beer cans but I did snag what appeared to be a shopping cart when I was there.

I was thinking of surreptitiously dumping a few largemouth bass (maybe 10-15) in here from a local lake to put some pressure on the green sunfish population. I was also thinking of surreptitiously dumping a channel cat or two in with the same purpose in mind.

Is guerrilla stocking a pond like this likely to improve the fishery in future years or is some other strategy better? I'm not looking to keep fish out of here, I just want to be able to tie into a good size fish occasionally.

I'm aware that this is of dubious legality.

The cattle watering ponds in our area are often "stocked" with GSF and LMB that have came out of local ponds or creeks. It is a very common mix to have these two fish. After time, what usually happens is some really nice LMB are caught and if the right amount of LMB are taken out periodically the fishery can be fair. If the pond is not fished and left to its own devices, the LMB will eventually over reproduce and the pond will have a lot of small stunted LMB. A pond that that I'm familiar with a friend recently fished that had not been fished for years. Pulled out many, many small LMB with great big mouths and stunted bodies.

So I would say the GSF would give LMB good forage if the correct amount of LMB can be maintained in the BOW to allow GSF numbers controlled yet not so many LMB that they will eat themselves out of house and home.

I'm not much of an angler, so this observation is mostly from friends that fish a lot in local waters. GSF are the main forage fish for this area unless the BOW was stocked with "bought" fish, in which case usually BG are used. All the strip pits, creeks, and a lot of ponds have populations of GSF and LMB is nearly always the main predator. This area of SE Ks is known for pretty good natural occurring LMB fishing. So GSF will support LMB, if the LMB are maintained in correct amounts.

The bass will have fun in a pond full of stunted GSF.

OK, I dumped 5 bass in. 2 were 10", 2 were 8", and one was 6". (I dumped in what I caught.)

How many would you recommend total? Also, what's the minimum size, lengthwise, for a bass to be able to eat a 2" green sunfish? Is there any point to me dumping 6 inchers in?

Thank you for your help.

Now I need to defer you to someone who actually knows what they are doing. When it comes to stocking numbers, there should be some more knowledgeable members who can help you.

What I have read on this forum is, as a rule of thumb, LMB can eat something one third its length. For example a 9" LMB could eat a 3" long fish. But it also depends on the shape of the target fish. I would say that GSF have a slightly better shape than BG, especially the smaller ones, because they tend to be shorter in height relative to their length. More shaped like a LMB. In other words, I would think they would "fit" in a LMB better.

I would also think how many LMB to stock would depend on your goals for the fishery. If you want few but monster LMB, don't stock very many and let the few gorge themselves. If you want to easily catch LMB but don't want trophies, stock more. Someone smarter than me can help you with those numbers.

I can tell you one thing, GSF are mean little fish. In my main pond I trap FHM and small BG in a minnow trap that has a fairly large opening for a minnow trap. The BG and FHM get along together. I have been trapping 2-3" GSF with this same trap in my old pond. The GSF will kill a FHM if it gets in with them and have the eyes out and the soft part behind and under the mouth gone. I don't have many FHM in this pond, because the GSF do a number on them and their spawn. I suspect they would do the same with LMB fry, but unless a pond has lots of cover the LMB seem to win out over time anyway. Maybe they are just meaner yet. The pond above I mentioned actually had lots of Lilly pads and cover (for forage fish), and the bass still dominated the pond.

I think it is worth adding the 6" LMB if it happens to come your way. It will help knock back the smaller fish while the larger LMB you are adding will work on the bigger ones/breeders. Remember, all these fish will be growing and as they do, they will want bigger meals. So, IMO, it would be good to keep adding some small ones until the LMB start spawning on their own (next spring?).

1/3 rd acre pond is not that big when it comes to putting in fish. Rule of thumb is 50 pounds of predator fish per acre if not fertilized. So do the math. A half acre pond could have 25 pounds so a 1/3 acre pond I would say could have about 18 to 20 pounds of predator fish that's not much! And you said you already put 5 in there so let say those 5 bass get to be 2 pounds each theres 10 pounds already so I would not go more than 10 bass in that pond. That's just me though.

RC

P.S. The younger smaller bass are actually better to transplant as they will have a better chance at conforming to their new BOW than older bass will. So I would not put any bass in there over 13 inches at this point.

P.S.S. One other thing. If all you have in there is GSF your bass will out eat them! GSF do NOT spawn enough to take care of the needs of hungry bass! So eventually you will have stunted bass no matter what unless you put some nice size BG in there to spawn! That's why Bob Lusk always says BG are the backbone for bass to thrive! Not GSF! Just saying.