Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Overpopulation of Bass... I think

Hello, I am new to the Forum recently purchased some land and I own 3 acres of a 8 acre pond. I have caught bass, brim,catfish and crappie out of the pond, but nothing but the brim have any size! When I go fishing I can catch 15-20 bass in just an hour or so about 8"-12" long, I think I have an overpopulation of bass. Any thoughts on how to get bigger bass? I recently started trying to feed the catfish but nothing is coming to the surface to eat. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Hey Cory,

Welcome! Yeah sounds like you have a typical large BG pond. Lots of smaller bass to eat the smaller BG but the bigger ones keep getting bigger. If you want larger bass you have to start getting rid of some of those small bass. Then the remaining bass will have more food and be able to grow faster. Right now there is way to much fighting going on for all those little brim. Maybe need to start keep the crappie also? Lets wait and see what someone else has to say.

RC

Welcome to the forum! Not owning the whole pond means that you can't usually manage it 100% the way you'd like. Anyway....

It will take some time for the fish to realize that those brown pellets are food.

It'll take at least a year for you to see results, but take out all the LMB that you catch. There are too many mouths to feed and they are starving. You cannot just add food for them, you'll go broke in a hurry. If the pond is 8 ac, then you should start by removing 200# or more of LMB from the pond this year. Concentrate on removing the skinny ones.

Dang it, I forgot about the Crappie. Remove all the ones that you catch too. They are eating small fish that could go towards feeing the LMB.


But, since you don't own the whole pond, are the other property owners O.K. with your plans?

Thanks for the input! Yes the other owners are ok with whatever! Sounds like I need to start keeping the smaller bass and crappie, they are just the right size for frying whole may be able to filet some! There is also an abundance of Turtles in the pond, do I need get them out as well?

I agree with esshup but I would add that if you catch a large bass or one that looks fat throw it back. All the skinny 8-12" fish should be kept. I know it sounds weird to keep fish since we are all trained to catch and release, but a stunted bass has lost growth that it will never regain. A stunted bass might grow some more if given enough food but it will never reach it's maximum potential. Remove as many small bass as you can for two to three years and you will start to see a lot of improvement.

If there are any big bass they are eating the larger bluegill but are probably eating mostly stunted bass since they are more fusiform (easier to swallow) than bluegill or crappie.

Do a search for relative weight, learn what the optimal measurements are for these fish so you know which ones to remove. When you start catching more and more fish with good relative weights you will know that your pond is healthy.

hey cory:
I originally signed up here with the same problem (except the other homeowners around our pond are hesitant to remove fish).

You could not have come to a better place to find answers. I think the suggestions to remove all LMB within the size range suggested, and all BC is wise. (at least based on my experience)

Also....another fish to remove is the "skeletor" bass. They may be slightly larger than the rest, but have shrunk due to overpopulation since growing to a larger size. So their heads look oversized, gaunt and malnourished. So even if you land a fish outside of your slot for removal, if it looks too much like skeletor, take it out.

You will literally have to remove hundreds of Lb's of LMB each year for a few years (it was 2 for me, and then once and a while landed a 2lb fish, now, 4 years later we are seeing them weighing in the 4's and 5's) before it really makes an impact. But eventually you will start to see more varied size classes of your BG, and following that, a few larger bass will start to appear as the ones who escaped your rod and reel now have more food, and varied food to devour.

All of my statements above are based strictly on my own experience and what i have gathered from the kind folks here. By no means am I a pro at this, and if anyone here disagrees with the experiences listed above, please disregard any of my statements. and good luck!

-skinny

In an 8 acre pond having Crappie is borderline. Most folks here would say you need a 15 acre lake before you even mess with Crappie. 8 could be done if you manage them. If I had a 8 acre pond I would love to have some Crappie in it as they are gooooood to eat!! If you could get their numbers down to when you catch some they are 10 to 12 inches long that's some good eating right there, but it all comes back to harvest / magagement of that fish.

Keep a count of how many bass you take out. Like esshup said 200lbs worth is about 200, 12 inch bass. If you can catch 20 or so in an hour take a bucket with ya and get busy!! Before you know it you will have 200. That's a LOT of extra fish then for the other bass. And if you hammer the crappie too before you know it your bass will start to grow once again.

RC

Thanks for the info guys!

Can to many turtle's hurt the pond? On a sunny day you can see at least 75-100 turtles on the bank sunning!

Turtles are the clean up crew or buzzards of the pond. I have never considered them a problem. If they eat a fish, it will probably be sick or dead. If they bother you, shoot them.

Agree with all of the above. You have what is called a bass heavy pond where too many people practiced catch and release instead of management. From now on, remove every bass that you catch that is 13 inches or less. You won't catch them all and will have to work to catch enough of them. And yes, I mean from now on.

But, the bass aren't the only problem. As stated above do your best to totally eliminate the crappie.

Your biggest problem is a lack of forage to feed all of those hungry mouths. You are out of balance. You need bluegills or what you are calling brim. I'll bet that they are woefully short under 7 or 8 inches. And, until you eliminate enough predators, it will do no good to stock them. They will be immediately eaten as an expensive snack.

Start fishing hard. You have to if you want to make a difference. Keep a log of all fish caught. When the "average" fish is 14 inches you can start adding forage fish as needed.

Thanks! Going to try and catch 50-100 This weekend, sounds like a fun plan to me! I am also going to keep a log so I can share it on PondBoss!

The log will be the best tool you will ever have.

Well my plans didn't go to good, wasn't able to fish any this weekend the weather was terrible! I will keep everybody posted!

Hey Cory I feel your pain. This weekend did stink!! Where in Arknasas are you located if you don't mind me asking? My pond and all is in Batesville area. I live in NLR.

RC

Im down in Texarkana Arkansas.