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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 9
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OP
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 9 |
Hello All!
I have a 3 acre pond in Mississippi. Pond stock by original owner in 2000 with CNBG, RE, and Florida Bass. Has not been managed nor harvested appropriately. Thus, lots of small bass and large BG.
We had the pond electrofished Friday that confirmed that the lake was out of balance as mentioned above. I'm waiting on final report and recommendations.
From my research I am concerned that the Florida Bass strain may grow large but be much harder to catch (over last three years we have caught only two fish over 4 lbs).
So, should I consider adding some F1 strains to the pond to give us a better chance at catching larger bass?
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,055 Likes: 277
Moderator Lunker
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Moderator Lunker
Joined: Jan 2006
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Doc, adding bass at this stage won't do much good until you eliminate a lot of the existing bass. The bottom line is that you don't have enough forage.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 9
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OP
Joined: Nov 2010
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Thanks Dave!
Yes, I know I need to harvest as many of the small bass as possible and the management group also believes we will need to stock more BG in February.
With my primary goal of being able to catch some larger bass, I am concerned that even once i do this that I may end up with larger bass in the pond that I still won't catch due to them being Florida Bass.
So I am curious if once we get the lake more in balance if adding some F1 strains will help me achieve my objective. Or, do I need to consider starting over again?
Thanks for the help!
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,055 Likes: 277
Moderator Lunker
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Moderator Lunker
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Doc, I see no way that stocking more BG in February will help. They will immediately be eaten. Around here, we call them a quick snack.
You have what I often see as an average unmanaged Texas pond. Bass (predator)heavy/Bluegill(forage) light. The emphasis is on the word unmanaged. And, your question is one that we see pretty often. Catch and release and too small to keep works on public lakes but not private impoundments.
I often liken this to a Rancher with too many cows for the grass. The cow is a grass predator. Once the cows overeat the grass, he has to start feeding hay. And yet, the cows will still eat every sprig of grass that pops up. So, he needs to drastically reduce grass predators to return his environment to a balanced condition. Or, eliminate cows until his forage base returns. Skinny cows don't bring much at auction.
Two alternatives: Start fishing to eliminate all bass under 15 inches. Of course, they will still be spawning. Even though about 95+% of all fish born get eaten, you will still increase the bass load. Or, rotenone and start over. I hate that but it might be a lot quicker to meet your goals.
BTW, I need to do the same thing. 5 years of drought followed by 3 years of rain reduced my bass numbers but the remaining ones have spawned and due to family issues, I haven't been able to properly manage my 1.5 acre pond. Time to go fishing.
Hopefully Eric(Ewest) will chime in. He's in Mississippi and an awful lot of this stuff can be regional. I don't know a lot about F1's in Mississippi. And, it might matter whether you are on the Gulf Coast or further North.
Interesting University research found by Eric quite a few years ago. "They" stocked some ponds with bass. After some time period, it was fished. Fish caught were tagged and returned. Later, they drained the ponds and segregated the tagged fish to other ponds. Then, they repeated the process multiple times with their progeny. It was found that some fish are genetically wired to rarely bite a hook. They certainly feed but not on bait with strings attached. How's that for complicating things?
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Joined: Jan 2012
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Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,930 Likes: 2 |
Doc, I see no way that stocking more BG in February will help. They will immediately be eaten. Around here, we call them a quick snack. Unless you buy advanced sized BG, there is pond boss member and advertiser that sells advanced size BG (about 8-11" BG). Thinning out the bass drastically and adding several dozen 10" BG ready to spawn could help.
Goofing off is a slang term for engaging in recreation or an idle pastime while obligations of work or society are neglected........... Wikipedia
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OP
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We harvested 20 lbs of LMB 13" and under Friday. We will be very aggressive over the next few months as well.
The CNBG will be intermediate size that we stock(if we do that). Along with feeding them.
I want to give it a shot before we start from scratch. Rotenone is a drastic step that I would only do if we don't see some improvement.
Thanks for the thoughts!
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,055 Likes: 277
Moderator Lunker
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Moderator Lunker
Joined: Jan 2006
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It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,499 Likes: 267
Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
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Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: Mar 2005
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Add 5> BG in late March and after harvesting a bunch of LMB then add a few northern strain LMB adults to improver catch ability .
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Doc, welcome to the forum. In addition to what was said above, you should shoot for removing close to 30 pounds of bass of all sizes PER SURFACE ACRE.
The bluegills that you stock should be at least 1/3 the length of the majority of the larger bass in the pond. I.E., if the majority of the bass in the pond are 14" long, stock 5"+ bluegills.
Like Dave said, if you stock smaller ones, the bass will do their darnedest to eat them. Even if they can't and spit them out, they might be too stressed to be a help in getting the pond turned around.
The way fish are sold and graded, if you buy 4"-5" fish, the majority of them will be around 4" in length. So, make the target size of the Bluegills that you buy no smaller than the largest fish that the bass can eat, and going up one size will help ensure their survival.
You want the stocked bluegills to survive and spawn, not become expensive snacks. If stocking fish small enough for the bass to eat, stock 200%-300% more than you expect you will need to ensure enough survive.
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