Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Managing a Muddy Pond for LMB

I have about a 1 acre pond in North Texas that I can't seem to get in line with my goals. I would love to be able to go out and catch 3-5lb LMB/CC/HSB regularly ... and have the option to catch CNBG faster than we can get a hook in the water. Not looking for any trophies, just consistent action with decent sized fish. Maybe that's asking too much for a 1 acre pond?

What I have is very muddy water full of bullheads and carp. We had the pond dug 3 years ago, and immediately stocked it with FHM, CNBG, RES, CC, and LMB. I have consistently added more CNBG a few times a year since, and last year I added some HSB. I was hoping by now we would be able to catch some fairly nice fish. I've never seen any HSB, and I can't catch a LMB to save my life. I can catch a bullhead or carp any time i throw a worm in the water. Last year the water had some visibility, and we actually did catch a few LMB. This year the water hasn't gotten better than 6" of visibility.

The pond has a large watershed with other ponds above it. The bullheads and carp come from the other ponds during large rain events. So, draining and starting over is useless. I can't stay ahead of the trash fish, and I'm fairly certain they are the reason my pond is staying so muddy. Can LMB/HSB survive in these conditions? Is there anything I can do to force the pond more in line with my goals? Seining is difficult b/c of steep banks and structure. I've read on here about throwing out a trashcan with a hole in the lid and some bait to start pulling out bullheads. Any other ideas or suggestions?

ShieTown,
Let me say right off that I'm no pond expert, but I have been irrigating here in the west for many many years. It seems to me you have multiple layers of problems interfering with your goals.

First off, if you can regulate the inflow of water from the upper ponds and watershed, that might be the first thing to address. Can you reduce the water coming in to your pond with a sediment pond, diversion dam/dike, etc. fitted with a water control structure (valve)? A sediment pond sized to capture the water generated by your large rain events could then slowly release water to your main pond. A diversion pipe or ditch could allow you to shunt most of the large rain event water out around your pond, bypassing it. Only a regulated flow would then run down to your pond. This lesser flow could be screened to keep out larger unwanted fish. Some mud would settle out.

Next, clearing your pond's water a bit will help the predators catch and eat the smaller BHs and carp. Removing the larger carp and BHs will be a big deal. I'd chum the carp to shallow water where I'd angle for them, shoot them with bowfishing gear, shotgun, cast net some, use trotlines, etc. In other words, all out war. How about sectioning off an area with fencing and a gate that could be dropped once plenty of carp are inside the fence? Deal with the captives. Set minnow traps for smaller fish. Your LMB are going to gradually knock down your BH numbers once they can see them.
I haven't used chemical products to clear pond water. You might get experts' advice on feasibility of several applications of gypsum or whatever over a season to temporarily clear the water allowing predators to see and eat more of the smaller fish. I've not read of this approach; it could help to get ahead of the little guys, and allow you to target the larger unwanted fish.

Lastly, sorry for the long post, but you didn't mention whether you want 3-5 pound fish for eating or for C & R. You probably already know that you will catch and release HSB several times, LMB a couple of times, and CC one time. I cannot tell you if you can raise abundant fish of this size for consumption in a 1 acre pond. Others can help you on that.

What a fascinating journey this will be. Keep us posted.

Shie, I'm South of you at Bowie. Catch a 3 to 4 inch BG for bait and let it free swim.

Shietown I really like the advice 4Corners gave.

This is a link to Specialty Ponds . In that thread are links to various sediment ponds. Many of the links are over on my Sediment pond page starting on page 2.

Here is the link to one of those threads that when I read your post I thought of. Pond color is too green. It shows how Paul Thomann created a series of both sediment ponds and diversion of water to clear his pond.

You may or may not have the land, resources or desire to go to the extent he did to manage the flow and clarity of his pond. But I think at least it may give you some ideas you might not have thought of.

Good luck!

Edit: I wish Paul would come back to the forum and give us an update on how the sediment ponds were continuing to work, the maintenance requirements, etc.

Thank you for your responses!

4Corners/Snrub, I have not thought about the sediment pond(s) with a regulated inflow. This could be a very interesting solution to keeping new bullheads/carp from making their way downstream. I will begin looking into a strategy to implement something like this in the long term.

In the meantime, we did a little fishing this weekend, and we caught over 20 bullheads around 4", 1 bluegill and 1 skinny bass in about an hour. I think it's safe to say my pond has been overrun. It was a frustrating outing considering all of the desirable fish we have stocked in this pond over the last few years. So, now to figure out how to best knock these current fish out! I do have a shallow area that may lend itself to seining. What is the best bait to use to chum carp and bullheads into an area?

Dave, I threw out a minnow trap, hoping to catch a little BG to use as bait ... and ended up with an empty trap. So, I haven't been able to try a BG out yet!

Heck, use one of the 4 inch bullheads and see what happens.