Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat New Land Owner - Pond

New to This, Be gentle....

Just bought land is South Texas (Sheridan). It has a small pond 150'x90' , don't know the actual depth yet, and it has Bass and perch. I was told originally it was 15 ft, but I seriously doubt it is close to that from what I have seen in the 1 hour I fish here. Soil is sandy. water is clear to about 6" and then looks to be tea colored.

There are 2, 6' existing trees at opposite ends of the pond. They have been there awhile, look to be Cedars.

I read here that Oaks and live specifically, can cause problems. I Could not find anything about live Cedars, I have cut a ton of them creating a fence line, was wondering if they (fresh cut) would be good.

I caught 6 small bass, and twice that small to hand size perch.
There is at least 1 Large bass est over 20" that hit and ate 1 perch 3 times while I reeled the perch in. The perch hit was on the large size.

Most minnows I see are small 1" and under.

Any ideas, suggestions or comments are appreciated.

thx

Welcome to the forum.

What do you want the pond to be? How would you like it different than what it already is?

Welcome to PB. You could put in a couple more cedars but don't fill the pond with them. Take a few pics of the fish and post them.

Welcome!

Sounds like a nice pond. When you say "perch" I assume you mean a critter of the bluegill or sunfish variety? And your minnows are likely native gambusia. There are gurus here that can nail down a species with a few good photos. Best to know what you are starting with so you can create a management plan to meet your goals.

I am looking to keep a bass pond, possibly make it bigger.
I am trying to figure out how to add pics here.

Yes, black dot on the gills

Sounds like you probably have a good foundation for a bass pond.

Bluegills breed like crazy, you'll want so many that they are overpopulated and stunted. Their job (in a bass pond) is to be food for your bass.

If you want large bass then you should consider harvesting mid-sized bass. This will leave more food for your large bass. What size to harvest, as always, depends. Do you know if it was originally stocked with the "standard" Northern largemouths, or a more upitty Florida strain?

If you already have a bunch of 20" bass then perhaps-maybe harvest all bass you catch from 12 to 16" (example only). I'll leave the exact slot to harvest to the PB gurus. They will probably suggest an electrofishing survey before weighing in.

I assume you subscribe to the PB magazine? If not, consider doing so. Lots to think about. Feeding the bluegill? Aeration? Etc etc

Look on the "commonly ask questions" thread. It has lots of useful information about posting pictures, commonly used acronyms, etc.

Common questions archive