Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Corrective stocking New farm in southern IA with two ponds

I will be soon closing on an 80 ac farm in very south central Iowa. It is pretty much for hunting, but incidently has a couple of existing ponds. The smaller is about 0.4 acres and only about 8-10 feet deep. The current owner said there was a winter kill three years ago, since then he has been aerating with some type of solar aerator. He restocked with BC, LMB, and BG. The larger pond is about 3/4 ac and is fairly deep with max depth around 25 feet. There is very little shallow water at all, with it noticeably dropping off everywhere around the pond almost immediately. The current owner said it was good fishing for BG and LMB up to two years ago. He thinks that it may have been the result of hip dumping in 10 or so flatheads. What are the thoughts on this and how to proceed? I was unable to see any sign of fish life in this pond and was unable to catch anything, not even a single gill, despite them biting readily in other pond.

I think the flatheads are making everything else scarce in the pond. Depending on your goals, fish 'em out if you want other species to grow.

Grab a few 'gills from the other pond and let 'em swim under a bobber.

Maybe try removing some of the fins from the BG so they swim vulnerably as bait under a bobber. Also try fishing them near the bottom.