Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Young Bass spawn

We built a 5 acre lake in 2014. it is about 35' deep. It filled up that winter and we stocked it in 2015. We put in 30,000 flat head minnows and 10,00 bream early that spring then 500 bass in early summer.
I have three questions
will the bass I stocked last year spawn?
They are about 10" long right now.

When can I start letting my grandkids fish for bream?
They are about the size of your hand.

One of my biggest concerns is that they will catch a lot of bass while they are bream fishing. How bad does it hurt the bass to be caught and released?

Per Texas A&M fisheries in the southern U.S. largemouth can spawn when 1 year old if they have reached at least 10 inches in length. I do know it happens here in Alabama.

I let Family bream fish the first year at that size here. But we only keep the ones that are hooked bad and C&R the others. The thing to remember is that these are your F1 (1st generation stock) and are the backbone to the genetic future of the stock. I do not over harvest my original stocking fish here by allowing people to catch them at will for the first few years.

You will kill a few with C&R. Just teach them how to properly handle a C&R fish and your mortality rate will be a lot less for both the bream and LMB. I got a 4 year old girl that has to release the fish for me. lol

Since you had lots of natural food for the stocker bass they should have some spawn activity in 2016 at 10"-11" long. In 5 acres I would allow some limited fishing for a limited amount of time weekly or twice a month. This is a very good time to teach the grandkids some angling lessons and fish management responsibility.
1. Explain to the kids Over fishing too frequently and too long leads to hook shy fish when those fish are caught and then released. Who likes to be jerked around by the jaw? Your dog would quickly learn not to eat hot dogs with hooks!
2. Pinch the barbs down on hooks so the hooks come out of fish and people easier, and cause less bleeding from fish so the fish has a better chance of surviving the jaw jerking when released.
3. Miss handling of hooked fish drug in the dirt and removing slime layer leads to fish dying later after its released. Rules: Don't allow the fish to touch the ground. Handle fish with wet hands so to not remove slime layer which is the fish's immune system from disease and parasites. Get the fish back into the water as soon as possible. When the kids are older teach them how to unhook a fish under water.
4. Teach them the difference between male & female BG and when harvesting BG remove mostly females which results in bigger BG later.
5. Teach the kids to Keep records of what bait was used, numbers and sizes of fish caught, and how long they fished. Take a paper, pen, and pad fishing. Build a fish measuring board. Actually show them how to measure the fish for the records. Maybe have them take turns being the "Fish Secretary". After fishing calculate their catch rate per hour they fished. As the kids grow they can see how the pond fishery has changed. These data will also help you better manage the pond.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W7TaS72Nmc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nnm38UcnQ8

You stocked a strong number of bass 100/ac. If you want bigger average size of bass plan to remove 10 to 20 per acre in the next 12 months. If you want general catching of all sizes do not harvest any bass until the 1st spawn of the bass has itself spawned. Then regular bass harvest can occur each year based on your goals for the fishery. Expect several BG and bass to die after being hooked and released even if you don't see any floaters. This alone will reduce the initial number of stocker bass depending on time fished, how fish are handled, and type of baits used.

Thanks for the info

seems like I might be better off waiting until spring of 2017 for the bream.
The older I get the harder it is to wait another year for anything.
I dont have that many "Next Years" left.

Kinds makes me wish I had just filled it up with Cat fish and hybrid strippers

Heck buff just go fish! That's what it's for!

+1 With 10,000 bream stocked your grand kids can do very little harm but I would crush the barbs on the hooks down and use circle hooks.

I agree. Let the Grandkids fish. They're not there everyday. But, the fish do learn and can become hook shy. BTW, there are several pond guys near you to talk to.

Number 10 long shank cricket hook with about anything on it works good for the 4-6" BG. Mash the barb down and the long shank keeps them from swallowing it so bad and makes hook removal easier.

Pinch of worm, sweet corn out of a can, bit of Slim Jim cut off with scissors. I enjoyed catching lots and lots of small BG out of my main pond to stock my old pond. Smallest fish I caught by hook was a FHM.

We use tiny pieces of rubber worms about the size of our fishfood pellets fished about 18" under a cork. Any color will due but brown,black,pink,white,and yellow work good for us.Never have to rebait. Have caught over 20 fish on one tiny piece of bait.Your fish have spawned at least 4-5 times giving you plenty of forage fish. I agree let them fish and have fun!! That's what it's all about!!

snrub, I have a picture of my grandson with a hooked fhm he caught on a whole kernel corn.That is what we first used to catch cnbg but the corn is also what made me think of putting a tiny piece of yellow plastic worm on the hook. Now we only use plastic. No more messy corn and constantly rebaiting.

Isn't teaching kids and their learning the right ways to do things an important part of your quality time together? Impart your wisdom to the next generation. Not knowing how to do fisheries the proper way from past learning experiences is why most members are here seeking help after they mess up the pond.

A little different twist here. I agree with Bill but will add that it is critical that they have fun above all else early on. One of the biggest problems we face is the drop in the number of people wanting to engage in outdoor activities like fishing. If kids don't have fun they will not keep it up long enough to learn the things Bill noted as important.

IMO your plan will work. The death of a few LMB is not a factor IMO. In some cases I suggest stocking at a 35 LMB per acre in the south - depending. Easy to add a few LMB if needed later.

Learning about pond and fish management can be and should be fun. Lack of knowledge of the teacher leads to more misinformation. Kids trust and rely on family for correct information. If learning isn't fun for the students then try and think of a different way the information is delivered and use patience especially to kids who are usually excited 'sponges' for new information.