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#491461 06/07/18 08:56 PM
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I have a 1/4 acre pond maybe a tad bigger than that ,it’s highly overpopulated in bluegill you can can 1-2 inchers all day long sometimes a bigger one but not often ,it was left alone for a long time and now I’m in the process of bringing it back to life ,we have never caught a lmb but I just added 7 10-12 inchers from another pond on the property ,last year I replaced the aerator but the weeds and algae were still bad so after talking to a local hatchery I decided to add 11 pounds of tilapia to help with that ,they were 4-6 inches I’d say ,I’m more interested in it producing larger harvestable bluegill and stocking some channels cats to harvest in the fall ,my question is should I let the bass work this year and leave the pond be or go ahead and throw in a couple white amurs to help the tilapia out and would adding some channels now help knock the bluegill population down

Zgrig81 #491462 06/07/18 09:02 PM
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You may want to identify the weeds to see if the white amurs will eat it. If so, sounds like a plan!

Remember that tilapia are only a temporary solution, as they die in winter. You'll need to find the source of excess fertility in the watershed.


7ac 2015 CNBG RES FHM 2016 TP FLMB 2017 NLMB GSH L 2018 TP & 70 HSB PK 2019 TP RBT 2020 TFS TP 25 HSB 250 F1,L,RBT -206 2021 TFS TP GSH L,-312 2022 GSH TP CR TFS RBT -234, 2023 BG TP TFS NLMB, -160




Zgrig81 #491464 06/07/18 09:21 PM
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The tilapia are more of i trial thing and we are planing to catch all we can in the fall to try out ,if it works then it’ll be a yearly thing ,I’ve been considering adding fathead minnows but wanted to wait until the bluegill population goes down ,I’ve probably caught 150 in the past couple days and you’d never know it lol ,I might try cast netting some out also

Zgrig81 #491465 06/08/18 12:24 AM
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With a pond that small featuring a stunted BG population I would have drained, seined, nuked and started over. Too late to do that?


Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau

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teehjaeh57 #491468 06/08/18 06:11 AM
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That was my vote but the owners grandkids still enjoy catching the lil gills so that was out lol and there is a large amount of bullfrogs and he didn’t want to loose those ,am I right thinking the channels will help with the gills ? And how many would be recommended to stock ?

Zgrig81 #491474 06/08/18 07:24 AM
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I'm not one to advise on stocking rates, but it seems reasonable to cull the gills as you are doing. If you get serious about removing ALOT of gills, you should try your hand at sexing them and remove as many of the females as possible trying to leave the bulls for future growth. This could reduce the reproductive nature of the BG in the pond for the next year or two. CC should also help reduce the number of YOY and if you stock large enough cats they will also work on the larger ones. A 1/4 acre pond with aeration should be able to support 25 to 50 predators combined. That's CC and/or LMB. I believe LMB have a better chance of suiting your needs, but CC will help also and they add some variety.

I've not done any cast netting, but look into a cloverleaf trap also for removing fish. Those traps have a good reputation for catching fish so long as you are up to tending to it daily, like any trap.


Fish on!,
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Zgrig81 #491477 06/08/18 08:47 AM
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I’ll check into that thank you ,the cc are to help some and I’m sure they won’t take long to gain some size with the abundance of small bg the kids are more wanting to catch some so it’s worth a try ,now will the gills genetics be stunted or when things get balanced will they gain reach suitable size

Zgrig81 #491481 06/08/18 10:21 AM
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I have read/learned here at PB that...

(I'll paraphrase) IF a fish looses a season of being well fed, it will loose that growth spurt and will not recover it before it's demise.

A stunted fish population is typically the result of too much competition for food due to an overpopulated pond. Those fish have lost that "season", maybe more, of being well fed. Those fish will continue to grow once the overpopulated condition is fixed, but they may not see full growth potential.

I suspect their offspring, given an improved environment, will have the growth potential you would expect. Of course, good genetics can make a big difference in trophy fish results, but I do not believe that stunted fish pass on stunted genetics.


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Ok thanks,I’m going to try the cloverleaf trap this weekend and add some cc

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Originally Posted By: Quarter Acre
I have read/learned here at PB that...

(I'll paraphrase) IF a fish looses a season of being well fed, it will loose that growth spurt and will not recover it before it's demise.

A stunted fish population is typically the result of too much competition for food due to an overpopulated pond. Those fish have lost that "season", maybe more, of being well fed. Those fish will continue to grow once the overpopulated condition is fixed, but they may not see full growth potential.

I suspect their offspring, given an improved environment, will have the growth potential you would expect. Of course, good genetics can make a big difference in trophy fish results, but I do not believe that stunted fish pass on stunted genetics.


Interesting point. We know that just the act of catching fish makes them hook shy, along with their progeny. Obviously this isn't because their DNA was altered, but rather DNA expression: Epigenetics.

So stunted fish may tend to have stunted offspring. Certainly we know that humans who survived a famine tend to have children & even grandchildren that show effects.


7ac 2015 CNBG RES FHM 2016 TP FLMB 2017 NLMB GSH L 2018 TP & 70 HSB PK 2019 TP RBT 2020 TFS TP 25 HSB 250 F1,L,RBT -206 2021 TFS TP GSH L,-312 2022 GSH TP CR TFS RBT -234, 2023 BG TP TFS NLMB, -160




Zgrig81 #491487 06/08/18 02:55 PM
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If the bass become establish I predict in a few years you will be catching nothing but skinny 7" LMB. BG will be rare but large.

Last edited by Bocomo; 06/08/18 02:55 PM.
Bocomo #491491 06/08/18 03:15 PM
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The bass are temporary I’ll keep a few in but ideally they will only be there to keep the bg in check

Zgrig81 #491493 06/08/18 03:18 PM
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Originally Posted By: Zgrig81
The bass are temporary I’ll keep a few in but ideally they will only be there to keep the bg in check


Unless you managed to introduce only males or only females they won't be temporary...

Zgrig81 #491494 06/08/18 03:31 PM
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LMB have a tendency to reproduce...


Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau

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Zgrig81 #491495 06/08/18 03:46 PM
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If your goals are to develop larger blue gills, read this...

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=189988#Post189988

BE AWARE, you'll need some time to get through it all and you may get addicted like I did. It really makes a lot of sense for us small pond stewards.


Fish on!,
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Originally Posted By: Quarter Acre
If your goals are to develop larger blue gills, read this...

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=189988#Post189988

BE AWARE, you'll need some time to get through it all and you may get addicted like I did. It really makes a lot of sense for us small pond stewards.


Thanks for the reference! I hadn't seen that thread before.

Really interesting that there are two distinctly different ways to maximize big BG chances: Loads of small LMB, or a few giants. I'm hoping for the latter at my place! grin

Last edited by anthropic; 06/08/18 04:37 PM.

7ac 2015 CNBG RES FHM 2016 TP FLMB 2017 NLMB GSH L 2018 TP & 70 HSB PK 2019 TP RBT 2020 TFS TP 25 HSB 250 F1,L,RBT -206 2021 TFS TP GSH L,-312 2022 GSH TP CR TFS RBT -234, 2023 BG TP TFS NLMB, -160




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Thanks that was a good one ,that’s kinda what I had in mind ,we have one other 1/4 that produces just like that now ,now I’ll just have to keep up with the bass population ,I just have to find someone who likes eating bass now I hate to just let them go to waste


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