Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Time to start keeping a few!!

Decided to try catching a few fish this morning. Very first cast, my little black jig hooked up with something with shoulders on it! My fly rod could barely turn it until it came unbuttoned. A few casts later resulted in a 11" white crappie. (THE ONLY UNDESIRABLE IN MY POND). I then caught a couple GSF around 5-6". All were invited to a knife fight and dinner on a date TBT. They all looked very healthy...no parasites or worms.

[img]https://photos.app.goo.gl/9hjYJnuNCo16cJCb7[/img]

Awesome. Enjoy the fine eating Mike.

This is only the 2nd crappie I've caught. The first in a trap earlier this summer, about 6" long. It was removed. I'm wondering now how many I have. I hope not too many. I'm sure these most likely are fish that swam in with the Harvey flood, so there's no way of really knowing at this point. Regardless, they seem to be doing well and will definitely get invited to a meal whenever they show up.

Sure wish I could get a RES to bite so I can see how they're coming along. I put in a dozen or so 3-4" fish earlier this year, but have trapped a few smaller ones that apparently swam in with the crappie.

Heck, for all I know, there's a big ol' flathead lurking around down there too. Sure hope not!!

RES are thriving in my pond re electroshocking, but I have yet to catch one. Not sure if they are more lure shy or if I'm fishing where they aren't.

Most of the RES I've caught have been from December through February. There's a BOW I like to take my kids where there is a dock and RES are in it. We call it "ice fishing" but there is never any ice when I take them. We bundle up and I think they like these trips more than any other. I prefer the RES for fileting when we can catch them. We sink the bait right to bottom very quickly to avoid more BG. The take is subtle but generally you see a very small change in the angle or a vibration. We use hotdogs but I bet earthworms might be better. You may catch a few BG before the RES are able to take it. I would think that if you have some structure to concentrate them at the most appealing depth you could fish over that. We caught them in 4' to 8' of water and I suspect that the BOW isn't over 12' deep.

Nice fish Mike. Looks like you will have to do some more research on the white crappie population.

See what jpsdad below your post said.

I will catch them fishing off the bottom when trying to lure a CC to bite my tiny 1/32 oz jig tipped with a small bit of something. Like fishing for BG with a jig but letting it go to the bottom or very near the bottom.

Considering that RES in most ponds are only a tiny fraction of the population of BG, either finding where the RES concentrate or cheating like I do and fish in a pond that has only RES increases your odds of catching one. Sometimes it is hard to keep the BG away from the bait long enough to let the RES have a chance to bite.

Once in a while I will have a RES hit like a BG when I cast and retrieve. But most of the time it is more like jpsdad describes. I will often feel a light tug, then another, then if the RES decides it really is something to eat they will gingerly take the baited hook. But they seem to (most of the time) be very persnickety biters.