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#254860 04/13/11 11:26 PM
Joined: Mar 2011
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Hey guys, just wanted some input as to approximately how much fish weight I should harvest this spring/summer.

++++++sorry about loooong description. Just trying to give you guys as much data as possible

Pond is in southern Louisiana. 1 acre. rectangle shape with flat bottom. about 5-6 feet deep. levee sides so not really any water shed, but does have a water well. Lots of sunlight, all trees are 20-30+ feet away. About 18 years old. not much natural structure, but lots of stumps, Christmas trees, sunken pipes and tires have been thrown in.

It is a very healthy pond. Until last spring, it saw absolutely no attention for 8 years after my Grandfather died. (it was his pond) We caught and harvested tons and tons of fish when I was a kid, but back then he managed it very well, though I don't think he ever limed or fertilized it. Went out last sprng and was shocked at how healthy it actually was so i fished a lot, and that got me motivated to really get the pond in tip top shape.
I didn't do anything last year other than fish a lot. I harvested probably 50lbs of BG, 20lbs of CC and only a few bass maybe 10-15 lbs.
This year ive been feeding since mid February as much food as they will eat. (which is a lot!!)
I haven't done a lot of harvesting yet, mostly just experimental fishing.
I got a brand new water well pump 3 days ago. The water is good. Its hard, alkaline and pH about 8-9. It sprys out of a nozzle up into the air like a yard sprinkler for aeration. I also put the Power House Aerator back together today after having it maintananced so today is first it has been aerated in long time. (its a top of water impeller type aerator and since the water has good clarity still the stratifcation has happened yet. I checked temps at top middle and bottom and they all not too far apart so i don't think any turn over or shock is going to be a problem). The water well sprays out near the aerator so I guess that helps oxygenate that well water even more.
The pond does not need lime. The chemistry is good. I fertilized 2 days ago with prosol fish stringer. 4lbs. I didn't measure the depth on the first day, but I did do it yesterday and today. The clarity is down 6 inches from yesterday. So now its at about 24" Going to install automatic feeder very soon, but will keep hand feeding in the meantime.
There a lot of nice BG, Im seing a lot of 1-4 BG fingerling in the shallows and they seem to be growing quickly also. My guess is that they probably are from the first spawn this year.
Plenty bass. Mostly small, occasional decent female but not a whole lot of good size in the LMB population. Theres about 20-30 really large CC that I see feeding. Don't see a lot of smaller ones.
My goals are plenty of nice BB and I would like a bit better size for the LMB. The main fish i go for out there is the BG. I know that to grow absolute monsters I should keep the bass over populated, but I would like a little more balance if possible. I would like to see more 14+ LMB. most now are below that and have always been that way.
the BB are nice and healthy and eat the food really well. But i would like my average keeper size to go from 5-7" up to about 7-9".
SO BASICALLY...I have a healthy pond with lots of management getting done to it to make it an even healthier pond. So what do you guys think my harvest goals should be.
Im just looking for a good ball park estimate.

Last edited by adam card; 04/13/11 11:42 PM.

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Originally Posted By: adam card
I also put the Power House Aerator back together today after having it maintananced so today is first it has been aerated in long time. (its a top of water impeller type aerator and since the water has good clarity still the stratifcation has happened yet. I checked temps at top middle and bottom and they all not too far apart so i don't think any turn over or shock is going to be a problem). The water well sprays out near the aerator so I guess that helps oxygenate that well water even more.


Even with well water coming in at no oxygen I question why you need a surface aerator in a 1 acre pond. Seems like a waste of money to me unless you've had fish kill issues or you're afraid you algae bloom will get out of control or crash. Even then I wouldn't crank it up unless I needed it. You are aware surface aerators aren't very effective at destratification below a few feet right?


Originally Posted By: adam card
I fertilized 2 days ago with prosol fish stringer. 4lbs. I didn't measure the depth on the first day, but I did do it yesterday and today. The clarity is down 6 inches from yesterday. So now its at about 24" Going to install automatic feeder very soon, but will keep hand feeding in the meantime.
There a lot of nice BG, Im seing a lot of 1-4 BG fingerling in the shallows and they seem to be growing quickly also. My guess is that they probably are from the first spawn this year.

Plenty bass. Mostly small, occasional decent female but not a whole lot of good size in the LMB population. Theres about 20-30 really large CC that I see feeding. Don't see a lot of smaller ones.
My goals are plenty of nice BB and I would like a bit better size for the LMB. The main fish i go for out there is the BG. I know that to grow absolute monsters I should keep the bass over populated, but I would like a little more balance if possible. I would like to see more 14+ LMB. most now are below that and have always been that way.
the BB are nice and healthy and eat the food really well. But i would like my average keeper size to go from 5-7" up to about 7-9".
SO BASICALLY...I have a healthy pond with lots of management getting done to it to make it an even healthier pond. So what do you guys think my harvest goals should be.
Im just looking for a good ball park estimate.


Harvest more of your smaller bass to get bass sizes up. Are you familiar with relative weight charts and managing the bass by relative weight?


If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






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Cecil, you are 100 percent correct about the aerator. As i mentioned, the pond survived well for over 8 years not ever having been aerated. In fact I thought of something else that further proves the pond is not a high fish kill risk. I didn't go out and buy aerator, it was already sitting in the pond from when my grandfather first dug it. (I think he mostly used it to help keep the alge matts pushed up against banks and not out in water. This pond had really, really bad Fil Algae problems in its early days and it drove my Pawpaw crazy!!) My only expense was getting it cleaned up and serviced. I just figured since aerators are so expensive, I might as well just pay 100 dollars and have the manufacturer completely clean it up and bring it to perfect working condition. Its really just out there as a back up measure since I had never fertilized before.
And yes I know that don't help stratifiation very much, but like I said its just there as back up "Plan B" incase the bloom became out of control
thansk


Subscriber......appreciative of the countless members and administrators for sharing priceless knowledge and insight to a young knucklehead such as myself!!!

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