Pond Boss Magazine
https://www.pondboss.com/images/userfiles/image/20130301193901_6_150by50orangewhyshouldsubscribejpeg.jpg
Advertisment
Newest Members
Shotgun01, Dan H, Stipker, LunkerHunt23, Jeanjules
18,451 Registered Users
Forum Statistics
Forums36
Topics40,902
Posts557,116
Members18,452
Most Online3,612
Jan 10th, 2023
Top Posters
esshup 28,420
ewest 21,475
Cecil Baird1 20,043
Bill Cody 15,112
Who's Online Now
1 members (Dave Davidson1), 755 guests, and 219 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 9
D
OP Offline
D
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 9
Hello All!

I have a 3 acre pond in Mississippi. Pond stock by original owner in 2000 with CNBG, RE, and Florida Bass. Has not been managed nor harvested appropriately.
Thus, lots of small bass and large BG.

We had the pond electrofished Friday that confirmed that the lake was out of balance as mentioned above. I'm waiting on final report and recommendations.

From my research I am concerned that the Florida Bass strain may grow large but be much harder to catch (over last three years we have caught only two fish over 4 lbs).

So, should I consider adding some F1 strains to the pond to give us a better chance at catching larger bass?

Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,028
Likes: 274
D
Moderator
Lunker
Online Content
Moderator
Lunker
D
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,028
Likes: 274
Doc, adding bass at this stage won't do much good until you eliminate a lot of the existing bass. The bottom line is that you don't have enough forage.


It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 9
D
OP Offline
D
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 9
Thanks Dave!

Yes, I know I need to harvest as many of the small bass as possible and the management group also believes we will need to stock more BG in February.

With my primary goal of being able to catch some larger bass, I am concerned that even once i do this that I may end up with larger bass in the pond that I still won't catch due to them being Florida Bass.

So I am curious if once we get the lake more in balance if adding some F1 strains will help me achieve my objective. Or, do I need to consider starting over again?

Thanks for the help!

Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,028
Likes: 274
D
Moderator
Lunker
Online Content
Moderator
Lunker
D
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,028
Likes: 274
Doc, I see no way that stocking more BG in February will help. They will immediately be eaten. Around here, we call them a quick snack.

You have what I often see as an average unmanaged Texas pond. Bass (predator)heavy/Bluegill(forage) light. The emphasis is on the word unmanaged. And, your question is one that we see pretty often. Catch and release and too small to keep works on public lakes but not private impoundments.

I often liken this to a Rancher with too many cows for the grass. The cow is a grass predator. Once the cows overeat the grass, he has to start feeding hay. And yet, the cows will still eat every sprig of grass that pops up. So, he needs to drastically reduce grass predators to return his environment to a balanced condition. Or, eliminate cows until his forage base returns. Skinny cows don't bring much at auction.

Two alternatives: Start fishing to eliminate all bass under 15 inches. Of course, they will still be spawning. Even though about 95+% of all fish born get eaten, you will still increase the bass load. Or, rotenone and start over. I hate that but it might be a lot quicker to meet your goals.

BTW, I need to do the same thing. 5 years of drought followed by 3 years of rain reduced my bass numbers but the remaining ones have spawned and due to family issues, I haven't been able to properly manage my 1.5 acre pond. Time to go fishing.

Hopefully Eric(Ewest) will chime in. He's in Mississippi and an awful lot of this stuff can be regional. I don't know a lot about F1's in Mississippi. And, it might matter whether you are on the Gulf Coast or further North.

Interesting University research found by Eric quite a few years ago. "They" stocked some ponds with bass. After some time period, it was fished. Fish caught were tagged and returned. Later, they drained the ponds and segregated the tagged fish to other ponds. Then, they repeated the process multiple times with their progeny. It was found that some fish are genetically wired to rarely bite a hook. They certainly feed but not on bait with strings attached. How's that for complicating things?


It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,930
Likes: 2
R
RER Offline
Offline
R
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,930
Likes: 2
Originally Posted By: Dave Davidson1
Doc, I see no way that stocking more BG in February will help. They will immediately be eaten. Around here, we call them a quick snack.


Unless you buy advanced sized BG, there is pond boss member and advertiser that sells advanced size BG (about 8-11" BG).

Thinning out the bass drastically and adding several dozen 10" BG ready to spawn could help.


Goofing off is a slang term for engaging in recreation or an idle pastime while obligations of work or society are neglected........... Wikipedia
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 9
D
OP Offline
D
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 9
We harvested 20 lbs of LMB 13" and under Friday. We will be very aggressive over the next few months as well.

The CNBG will be intermediate size that we stock(if we do that). Along with feeding them.

I want to give it a shot before we start from scratch. Rotenone is a drastic step that I would only do if we don't see some improvement.

Thanks for the thoughts!

Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,028
Likes: 274
D
Moderator
Lunker
Online Content
Moderator
Lunker
D
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,028
Likes: 274
Best of luck Doc.


It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,475
Likes: 264
E
Moderator
Hall of Fame 2014
Lunker
Offline
Moderator
Hall of Fame 2014
Lunker
E
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,475
Likes: 264
Add 5> BG in late March and after harvesting a bunch of LMB then add a few northern strain LMB adults to improver catch ability .
















Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,420
Likes: 794
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Offline
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,420
Likes: 794
Doc, welcome to the forum. In addition to what was said above, you should shoot for removing close to 30 pounds of bass of all sizes PER SURFACE ACRE.

The bluegills that you stock should be at least 1/3 the length of the majority of the larger bass in the pond. I.E., if the majority of the bass in the pond are 14" long, stock 5"+ bluegills.

Like Dave said, if you stock smaller ones, the bass will do their darnedest to eat them. Even if they can't and spit them out, they might be too stressed to be a help in getting the pond turned around.

The way fish are sold and graded, if you buy 4"-5" fish, the majority of them will be around 4" in length. So, make the target size of the Bluegills that you buy no smaller than the largest fish that the bass can eat, and going up one size will help ensure their survival.

You want the stocked bluegills to survive and spawn, not become expensive snacks. If stocking fish small enough for the bass to eat, stock 200%-300% more than you expect you will need to ensure enough survive.


www.hoosierpondpros.com


http://www.pondboss.com/subscribe.asp?c=4
3/4 to 1 1/4 ac pond LMB, SMB, PS, BG, RES, CC, YP, Bardello BG, (RBT & Blue Tilapia - seasonal).

Link Copied to Clipboard
Today's Birthdays
cro, HC1968
Recent Posts
Relative weight charts in Excel ? Calculations?
by esshup - 03/29/24 01:06 AM
pond experience needed
by esshup - 03/29/24 12:45 AM
New pond middle TN: establishing food chain?
by Bill Cody - 03/28/24 07:57 PM
Happy Birthday Bob Lusk!!
by FireIsHot - 03/28/24 07:33 PM
Working on a .5acre disaster, I mean pond.
by PRCS - 03/28/24 06:39 PM
Fungus infection on fish
by nvcdl - 03/28/24 06:07 PM
Can anyone ID these minnows?
by Dylanfrely - 03/28/24 05:43 PM
1 year after stocking question
by esshup - 03/28/24 04:48 PM
Yellow Perch Spawn 2024
by H20fwler - 03/28/24 04:29 PM
New 2 acre pond stocking plan
by LANGSTER - 03/28/24 03:49 PM
Paper-shell crayfish and Japanese snails
by esshup - 03/28/24 10:39 AM
Newly Uploaded Images
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
by Tbar, December 10
Deer at Theo's 2023
Deer at Theo's 2023
by Theo Gallus, November 13
Minnow identification
Minnow identification
by Mike Troyer, October 6
Sharing the Food
Sharing the Food
by FishinRod, September 9
Nice BGxRES
Nice BGxRES
by Theo Gallus, July 28
Snake Identification
Snake Identification
by Rangersedge, July 12

� 2014 POND BOSS INC. all rights reserved USA and Worldwide

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5