Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Transfering fish

Is there any downside to putting large mouth bass from one pond into another assuming the ponds are within a few miles of each other and the fish are healthy?

What kind of fish?

sorry - large mouth bass

Depends on how many you're thinking about, what your goals are for the pond (trophy LMB, exceptional BG, ETC). What else is in the pond and is there a forage base to support these new transplants.

Everything in my pond was transplanted to this point....or just showed up on it's own, but I'm mainly just seeing what the pond will do on it's own, with a bit of leverage toward it being a good BG pond. My pond has 3 LMB residing currently, but their purpose is strictly predatory crowd control on the panfish.

We kinda need to know what you're shooting for,how many and what size fish you intend to move, how big/old the pond is, what's in it now...but addressing the issue of transplants of itself, as long as they're healthy, they should be fine. Pond owners do it all the time. Some even raise their own for that soul purpose.

Tim, this might work out fine, but there are no guarantees. Even if no parasites, disease, or unwanted plants make the trip, the LMB that flourish in one pond may not in another. They've learned how to live in one environment, but that doesn't always carry over into a different one. Bob Lusk has talked about this several times.

Transplant smaller fish as they adapt better than full grown fish

I have an established pond with plenty of bait fish that we bought two years ago. It only had small bass in it when we bought it.

I have access to a pond that is in the same area as mine and am thinking about transporting some bass. Maybe moving about 10 of the larger ones (3-4 lbs) just to jump start my pond and have better fishing faster

Try it and see what happens.... question fer ya..... if the pond is an established pond then why is there only small bass. Or are they there and uncatchable.

The pond was originally part of a large farm/ranch and nobody messed with it. Either it was fished out by the owner or had gone dry in the past. It is fed by a seasonal spring. I now have a well on it where I can keep it full year round.

So when I got it a few years ago I added the bait fish and feed it in warm months - tons of bluegill. There were some bass in the pond (1.5 acres) but most were young. So my thoughts are to get some mid sized bass in now

tim k, if you do the LMB transfer, what are your plans for the actual fish movement? Ice chests, bait tanks, etc.? Aeration of sometime will be needed for a trip that long. I'd add salt to the water as well.

thanks - it would be a simple transfer - maybe 15 minute drive and water is cold - so the fish would transport just fine I think

I have transferred BG and CC in a 35 gal barrel for over 30 min drive before with no problem. The cold water is a big help.