Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations 4 YEAR OLD POND AND FISH

I HAVE A 4 YEAR OLD POND AT OUR SUMMER HOME IN THE NORTHERN MIDWEST..
WE PUT IN ABOUT 50 SMALL BLUE GILL, 20 PERCH , 10 BLACK CRAPPIE AND ABOUT 30 BULLHEAD, ( WE PUT THEM IN SPERATICALLY OVER THE PAST 4 YEARS.)
WE DON'T FEED THEM BECAUSE WE ARE ONLY UP THERE ABOUT 3 DAYS AT AT A TIME 4-5 TIMES A YEAR.
HOW LONG BEFORE WE SHOULD START SEEING ANY DECENT SIZE FISH.

Damone -- I suspect you might not see any decent size fish under your current management strategy. Bluegill, yellow perch, black crappies, and bullheads all overpopulate and "stunt" when they don't have a predator to keep their numbers in check.

I'm not sure where you are in the northern Midwest, or what your pond habitat is like. However, most often a pond such as you have described needs to have a high density of largemouth bass. The 8-12 inch bass especially will thin out reproduction by the various panfishes, and reduce their densities. THEN, the survivors will grow to decent sizes.

I can't tell for certain that this is the true situation in your pond, but the lack of a predator is reason for concern. If I owned the pond, and my guesses here are correct, I'd quickly want to introduce adult largemouth bass and make sure they reproduce this year.

If you'd be willing to tell us your state/location, we probably could point you to some online information on pond management for your geographic location.

Hope this helps!

Damone - Have you tried fishing the pond to see what types and sizes of fish you can catch. As Dr.Dave says if you don't have some predators such as bass in the pond you will get too many small fish that do not apprear to grow. Try to give us some more details about your location and features about your pond.

This may be one of the rare cases where one should hope that a "friendly" neighbor, bird, or tornado deposited some other fish in a pond. If you are only there 12 - 15 days per year, I'm betting there is a decent chance that has happened.

Provide more information, fish / sample it to see what exists, and most definitely pay lots of attention to what experts like Dave and Bill say. They've really helped me and they know their stuff!

It's in north eastern Wisconsin close to the michigan border. The pond is approx 100' x 100' .
the deepst spot is supposed to be about 14ft. Although most of it seems to be about 4-6ft. We havent been able to go out and actually measure the deepest point . ( no boat) We are just going by what we were told. It is stream fed in the spring and early summer. The water is pretty dark , not easy to see through. Maybe 2 ft visibility. has alot of black muck on the bottom. The water itself seems clear in a bucket.
Would channel cat- fish help manage the pond population? Or are bass the only option?

Damone - A pond that size in your location (winters) is vulnerable to winter fish kills. It is very important for you to know the maximum depth of your pond. This will determine the likelyhood of winter fish kills due to primarily oxygen shortages. Of the fish that you stocked, bullhead are the most tolerant to oxygen shortages, then yellow perch, then smallest bluegill and lastly crappie. Crappie will usually be first to die as oxygen gets too low. The small intermittent stream (depending on size) possibly contributes some "wild" fish into the pond during spring. Minnows, dace, creek chubs and green sunfish are common stream fish in your location; expect to find at least one or some of them in the stream.

Clear water over a very dark bottom will cause the overall pond to appear "pretty dark". Black muck is from decomposed organic matter such as leaves and dead in-pond plant growth from previous years. Soils in your region are probably overlaid on igneous rock and thus infertile and water will be fairly soft (low alkalinity / hardness). This tends to cause low pond productivity which can be good or bad based on your goals for the pond. Ponds in you area can naturally have clear water with a slight or heavy brown water stain of brown due to tannins from significiant plant decompostional matter.

When the water gets 55F-60F, Bobber Fishing in 4-6ft of water with a worm and small (#8) hook set at 3-5ft deep and or a drab colored minnow trap baited with bread will reaveal at least some of the types of fish that have survived the local winters.

Your first 2 main goals should be determine what fish are in the pond and find out the maximum depth. With those answers we can help with more info for you.

Damone -- I found the Michigan pond management booklet, but they apparently charge $4 for it. If you go to the site below, they answer quite a few questions about Michigan pond management, and also include the title of the booklet that you might want to order.

http://web1.msue.msu.edu/waterqual/WQWEB/Pondmgmt.pdf

Damone,

Here's the Wisconsin Pond Management Booklet in PDF for free, I find it has more information. You never know what comes or leaves by a stream.

ww.wildlifemanagement.info/ publications/fish_ponds_38.pdf

Oops, forgot the link, there you go. :p

You may have to copy and paste. It didn't quite work like it usually does.

BILL CODY,
WELL I WENT UP TO WISCONSIN AND THREW THE POLE IN THE WATER FOR 4 HOURS. I ONLY GOT ABOUT 2 NIBBLES.
I DID SEE SOME 3-4 INCH BLUGILL MAKING NEST IN THE SAND. A MONTH OR 2 AGO I SEEN HUNDREDS OF 2 INCH FISH IN SCHOOLS BUT I DON'T SEE THEM NOW.
I HAVE AN 8 INCH OUTFLOW PIPE THAT LETS THE OVERFLOW WATER OUT OF THE POND IN THE SPRING. COULD ALL MY FISH OF POSSIBLY WENT OUT THE PIPE. IT FLOWS VERY SLOWLY OUT. I TRIED TO SEE HOW DEEP THE POND WAS BY THROWING A BOBBER AND SINKER IN DIFFERENT SPOTS. THE DEEPEST I FOUND WAS 7-8FT. THATS NOT TO SAY I COULDN'T HAVE MISSED A FEW DEEPER SPOTS. IT WAS DUG 5-6 YEARS AGO AND WAS SUPPOSED TO BE 14 FT AT THE DEEPEST POINT.
ANY IDEA WHAT TYPES OF FISH I COULD PUT IN HERE THAT WOULD HAVE A CHANCE AT MAKING IT. I AM NOT LOOKING FOR THE GREAT FIGHTER FISH JUST SOMETHING I COULD FISH AND RELEASE ONCE IN AWHILE AND FEED WHEN WE ARE THERE . I REALLY DON'T THINK IT IS SUITEABLE FOR ANY TYPE OF GAME FISH. I WOULD BE HAPPY IF I COULD JUST GET SOME FISH TO LAST. I NEVER REALLY BOUGHT ALOT OF FISH TO STOCK IT.
ANY IDEAS?

THANKS
DAMONE

ealong- you have a space between the / and publications. If you remove it the link should work!

I never knew someone would intentionally put bullheads in a pond.