Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Help...I need to cull LOTS of fish

I received the electrofishing survey report and the advice was to cull 300 lbs of bass from our 8 acre pond by next spring due to an over population issue.

Our HOA has 18 homes around the pond but I'm pretty much the only one that fishes this pond. I will tell the neighbors but trust me they wont go fishing.

So how can I cull 300 lbs of bass other than fishing? No way I can catch 300 lbs of fish in 6 months.

Thanks for your help and ideas!

Why did they not take out LMB with the shock boat ? That is the best way. In cold weather it will take boy scout or church groups. See if the shock boat will come help or look for a commercial fisherman with nets.

Charity fish and chips!?!? Fish your own, we cook 'em up? I dunno, be creative. Lots of hungry mouths out there.

put it in the paper? or the town community center/poster board etc.

If you really want to do it alone, I would look into what kind of nets/traps can help you.

I am told the heart shaped trap on this page works well for saltwater fish. I would think it would work for bass too.

http://ambergriscaye.com/pages/town/fish.html

Actually I may try this trap myself to aid in slot fish removal. Give a couple months and Ill let you know haha May catch a few tilapia before they die too!

These suggestions come from guys who know, and are right on target.

However, just for the fun of it, consider this:

If you fish 2x weekly for six months thats 48 fishing trips.

Overpopulated LMB fishery should yield a decent angler at least 10 fish/trip.

If each fish averages 10-12" or .75 - 1 lb that's 360 - 480 lbs in 6 months!

You might be surprised how much damage you could do on your own.

Buy some nightcrawlers.

I fished with a tiny nightcrawler the other night and captured 35 pounds of LMB in about 90 minutes.

Tonight I used a little crankbait and caught 15 pounds in 75 minutes.

You should be able to do this in TWO months.

I think Bruce is right on the money. Using a Fyke net, I've yet to catch a LMB in it.....

Let's face it--LMB aren't exactly little Einsteins. They're God's perfect gamefish. They grow big, and they're generally as dumb as a box of nails. Florida LMB are a little smarter however.


Seriously though...if you're not capturing 6 lbs LMB/hr., you're not really trying.

300 lbs is not that much if you do the whole thing properly

Fishing net can be a great solution. I'm not sure how it's properly called in English but in a video below you can see how it works:

http://www.nomad.lv/?p=3468 [start at 20:45]

I don't know if it's possible to purchase such things without any fishing licences in USA but if it's then choose the most suitable one and start fishing.
Simply set it in the evenig and take the fish in the next morning. Easy



I would avoid that way. At first you won't know when your 300 lbs goal is achieved. And after that it might be hard to get rid of these guest fishermen.

Thanks for all the answers! A couple of follow ups...

-The shock boat did cull about 50 fish.

-You guys must be great fishermen becuase I do not catch anywhere near 10 fish per hour on average. Maybe 3 fish on average per hour is how much I catch them.

I don't want a bunch strangers fishing in the pond. My neighbors will veiw it as a security and legal risk. We had a house get broken into a couple months ago so everyone is a little more timid than normal. I will look into the net idea and try to do better at catching them I guess.

Any other ideas? Thansk guys!

I'll throw this out there for fun discussion. How about Tiger Musky? I always thought they were a fun surprise when you catch one while fishing for bass, although some may disagree. Would they help long term in an 8 acre pond that doesn't get much fishing pressure? They won't be your short term solution needed by Spring, but maybe a long term solution?

Yeah, culling LMB is catch 22 - culling fish by hook and line is removing dumb easy to catch fish and leaving smart to catch fish…..
In a perfect world tag all hook and line fish and release.
Shock pond each year and remove “slot” un-tagged fish.
George

Grundulis, that's called a gill net nere in the states. You can buy them, they come in different mesh sizes to target certain sized fish.

Hey Bruce, My Northerns are offended by your cutting remark! smirk

It sounds like you need to change the way you fish. If you have an overpopulated pond that needs 300lbs of bass removed then you have a bunch of hungry fish to catch. Throw a 4" weightless senko and you should have no problem catching 10+ fish an hour. If you have access to a boat find the deeper holes in the winter and use a drop shot or silver buddy to catch em.

Thanks for information.

I think that this is the best way if you got a boat but it's not impossible to use it without boat too. Such gill net is very efficient and in case when pond is overpopulated it might be the best way.
Sure, it has some disadvantages too. For example, it catches all the fish of certain size without any sorting. But... it works alone and you got only a little to do:

1) set it;
2) collect it and remove all fish.

And set it again Good luck.

Stock large predators like 5# or larger LMB.

Get two or three of your buddies and tell each one to bring at least 2 rods, buy live minnows and fish with a cork. You will catch more fish at a faster rate than artificial lures and it is kind of fun for a change. I also think you will catch some bass on the live bait that you would not have caught on artificial baits, these are the ones you want to cull any way. You will be surprised how many you could take out in a day this way.

I've heard that concussion fishing via tightly packed flash powder in cylindrical cardboard tubes with waterproof fuses also perform very well, albeit the culling method is rather indiscriminate.

TJ, you been hanging around Tom G lately and fishing with DuPont Spinners?

No comment

Gold Fish work great for even the most hook shy bass.... you can bang them off the water many of times, but they keep swimming

I've read recently several posts about catching the "dumb" LMB and keeping will leave you with only "smart" LMB left.

Would you consider a LMB caught on live bait (nightcrawler, minnow, goldfish, etc.) a "dumb" fish? Asked another way... Will the "smart" LMB bite on live bait?

djstauder, from my experience and what I have read on here live bait will increases your chances of catching those "smart" fish. To the point some people wont use live bait because they feel there is no sport to it, or that your not giving the fish a fair shot. Also if you notice, there is not live bait on the bass tourney trail. Also live bait can increse your chance of gut hooking a bass.

Also florida bass are considered by most to be smarter than northerns, or at least more cautious of whet they try to eat. I have them in my pond, when I decide they have gotten to "smart" or the day I want to try to catch a trophy I will use live bait.

Dan the studies proving reduced LMB catchability and that the trait is heritable (inherited) were done using lures not live bait. Will post specifics tonight.

See these

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.ph...true#Post192916