Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations removing bream

i need some help with the following question:how many bream should i take out of a 5 acre lake?my lake is now about 3 1/2 years old and we seem to have plenty of bream of all sizes,all though most seem to be from small to just short of hand size.when the feeder goes off there are hundred's of them.our bass fishing is ok(good)they run from 7" to the largest around 16 1/2".most common size bass caught is around 14".so,back to my question how many bream should we take out per acre?this year we have taken out 111 bream large enough to eat.thanks.

Let us know what your goals are for the pond. Trophy Bass, Trophy Bream, or a happy medium?

fish,i have a lake similar in size to yours and about 8 months ago i posted just about the same question.i was told not to take bream out.stoll not sure if i understand the answer due to i have so many bream.maybe somebody with more exp. can give there 2 cents.

jm,i'm trying to build mostly a trophy bass pond but lean a little to happy medium.i would like to catch nice numbers of bass with some 5-8 pound bass if possible.when my feeder goes off there are tons of bream.i have a feeder that goes off 3 times a day and i hand feed in another location once a day.do you think i should take some bream out?my bream seem to be all sizes but most are a little smaller than hand size.thanks

Well If your looking to remove bluegill you can try this technique I use for my 1/8 acre pond. I use fish traps/minnow traps off of my small deck in my pond to control the population in my pond. After spawning, etc.. But, my pond is very small and I got bluegill, channels, red ear, and maybe 15 bass. It works for my pond prolly cause it's so small and I can see when there are too many hatched fish, esp. the bluegill. I started doing this for the bluegill these thnigs reproduce worse than rabbits. I started this after the first spawn and my bluegills are almost 1 lb in size and only stocked 2 years ago. so try it out it may help...

my 2 cents.. if it were me, i'd keep thoese bgills in there.. nothing like a strong forage base..if you think you have to many large bgills, i'm sure you could weed some of those out., but dont rid your pond of all of them.. start working on you bass. your saying your common bass is about 7 - 14"..are they skinny?..might be stunted!.. i'd start taking bass out, 10 - 14 inches, do relitive weights on your bass.. soon you should start to see you larger bass 15" + growing.. i think you can pull out (bass) 20 - 25lbs per acre on a well managed pond.. keep reading these posts... this site rocks!..

chris

If you are trying to grow large bass, I would leave all bream 6" and under in the lake. These are the fish sizes the bass will prey on. If you are going to take some out, take out the larger one as they will be replaced easily.

Lee, I have a 5 acre lake also, it's almost 50 years old.(strip pit) I wish I had your "problem"! I still stock 300 b-gill each spring to boost the forage base. They are the backbone of your trophy bass lake. My lake is strictly c/r on bass and b-gill. Your biggest concerne is if you are bass heavy or not. If you are, leave it alone or maybe take some smaller bass out. If your not, you may want to think about putting some larger bass in to help the top end of the food chain. I must caution you though, don't get fish from a public lake or resevoir because you may be getting a sick fish, largemouth bass disease virus. This will kill almost all your bigger bass.If you have a buddy w/ a pond and he does'nt mind, get'em from there. Or if you can afford it, buy some. The larger bass will not only eat b-gill, but small bass as well, thus keeping your stunted bass in check. I did this last year and it has made a world of difference. Hope this helps.

Lee, here's your answer. For a 5 acre lake, 3 1/2 years old, properly stocked in the beginning, in the south, it's okay to begin harvesting bluegill. Don't take the largest, they are your key broodfish. Larger ones prevent younger bluegill from reaching sexual maturity too quickly. When a bluegill begins spawning, its growth rate slows considerably. Since you are managing for trophy bass, you need bigger bluegill over time.
Remove as many as 50 pounds per acre per year, from a lake with a feeder. Catch fish away from the feeder, and take out 5-7" fish. A five gallon bucket, with no water, holds 30 pounds of bluegill. Also, a heavy six inch bluegill weighs about four to six per pound.
As you go, weigh and measure bass. They will be a guiding light when to harvest bluegill, as well as when to start a slot limit for bigmouths.
As you know, pond management is a balancing act.

BOB LUSK, CAN YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN A LITTLE MORE ABOUT BASS BEING THE GUIDING LIGHT AS RELATES TO HARVESTING BLUEGILL, THANKS.

Bluegill are the backbone of largemouth bass food chains. As goes the food chain, so goes bass.
Weigh and measure bass to determine body condition. Compare your bass to "average" bass, and you can determine the condition of bass populations.
Skinny bass need food. Bluegill are food. Certain size ranges of bluegill feed certain sizes of bass. For example, if most bass are 10-14" and underweight, and you have an abundance of larger bluegill, without presence of young bluegill, that tells an important tale. Bass are overeating young of the year bluegill. Harvesting bluegill won't solve the problem. As a matter of fact, harvesting adult bluegill can compound the problem. Overcrowded bass are the problem. Harvest bass, while working to increase production of small bluegill. Then, watch bass grow.
As bluegill populations mature, you will see several scenarios. One..crowded bass with skinny bluegill. Two..crowded bass with fat, healthy bluegill. Three..balanced bass with balanced sizes of bluegill. Four...everything else. For one, harvest bass and bluegill while increasing productivity with fertility or feeding. For two, harvest bass, but leave bluegill alone for the time being. For three, harvest balanced sizes of all species. For four, expect the fishery to be in transition, responding to some stimulus such as drought, flood, fish kill, feeding, etc. Rarely, you will see a fish population where bass can't reproduce, due to an abundance of bluegill. Your choice there? Stock the missing size class of bass while harvesting a few bluegill.

thanks for writing back.we will follow this plan.