Pond Boss Forums AERATION Should I aerate? Stress on fish population

I have an old gravel quarry pond with the following characteristics:

Surface Area: 2 acres
Avg. Depth: +/- 22 feet.
* my pond was used to quarry gravel for a nearby highway about 45 years ago. It has very steep banks (10 feet out is about 8 ft. deep). Deepest point I have found is about 46'. I have a relatively small "shallow area". Little or no bank vegetation. Good vegetation at bottom. Very little fishing pressure.

Fish Population: LM Bass, Hybrid BG, Crappie, Rainbow Trout, Amur, Fathead CF, minnows, shiners.

This past year I have noticed a sharp decline in the overall (nutrition) health of my fish. Trout seem emaciated (normally voracious feeders), bass are under fed as well. Bluegill seem to be the same- very aggressive feeders.

I use trout chow in the late winter thru early summer, then back off and let the pond survive on its own for the remainder of the year.

I have been on this same schedule for the last 7 years, since I have owned the property.

I am planning to do a large infusion of minnows / shiners immediately to try to bring some life back to the fish.

We are in the warmest part of the year, so I am reluctant to bring my trout to the surface due to the temp. variations, etc...

any other thoughts on what may be causing this unusual situation? Any thoughts on what I can do to FIX the problem asap?

thanks,

Ben

First thing to do is check the amount or mumbers of forage fish that are available. Use traps, nets, seines, etc.,. From the little you have old us it sounds like you have too many hogs feeding at the trough. When predators are thin they are not getting enough to eat. Over the years you have posssibly overprotected the predators and now have too many for the amount of available forage items.

You have a contradictory statement. 3rd paragraph you mention hybrid bgill and in 4th paragraph you mention bgill. Are they hybrids or pure bgill??. I will assume hyb bgill. Hybrid bgill do not produce very many young to feed predators, thus they contribute little to the forage fish numbers.

I am not familiar with fathead CF. Also it would be helpful to know what species of minnows and shiners you have. Some of then do not spawn well in ponds and may not provide very many forage fish. Also if the adult minnows and shiners are not surviving from one year to the next count them out as providing new forage fish. I think your initial stocking had a shortage of forage fish producers and too many predators. Thus once predators grew and reproduced they have overeaten the forage base and now are showing signs of not enough food ie thin bodies.

Fish that are eating the pellets when provided are making it thru the summer's lean times (no pellets). Non- pelleting eating fish are showing signs of low body weight.

If I am correct,, then the best way to fix the problem "asap" is to remove some predators. To try and put weight on your predators you will need to stock minnows and shiners at the rate of 2 to 4 pounds per predator. It takes eight to 10 pounds of minnows to allow a predator to gain a pound since prey-fish body mass is mostly water.. You better stock lots (or more than lots) of them if you want to eventually add weight to already skinny predators.

Also don't expect the minnows and shiners to reproduce and maintain their numbers because they haven't been able to do that during the past year otherwise your fish would be plump. If adequate numbers of adult preyfish were present to reproduce you would not have the problem you now have.

Ther are not very many different reasons for skinny predators.