Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Several questions

Ok, first of all, I'm not exactly sure how big my pond is. I think about 1/2-3/4 acre. The coppernose were stocked in oct of 02 and the F-1 bass in the spring of 03 by Southeastern Pond Management.(1000 coppernose, 100 F-1's) First question is, I'm catching bass from about 1 lb to several about 2-2 1/2 lbs. There have been about 4 or 5 fish that i've caught that have holes in their mouths where I have already caught them once this spring. I probably haven't caught but about 20 bass so far. I don't fish it much because of the size of the pond. Trying not to overfish it untill everything is a little better established. It doesn't seem good to me that i've recaught the same fish so many times, looks like i would be catching more of the small fish. They're VERY aggressive but i'm not catching as many as i have in other ponds that have alot of small bass. Also, i've been bream fishing and not catching but about 3 or 4 per trip usually. That seems odd to me also. I know there are alot of the coppernose because i see them and have seen several an inch or so long so i know they are spawning and hatching out. The bass are slamming the top of the water everywhere in the evening so i know they are eating well. Thanks for any help and advice. I'm not fertilizing or feeding by the way. located in north central Alabama.(Cullman/Lacon)

one more thing, how much affect do banded water snakes have on the fish population? I have saw about 4 of them so far this year. Last year I caught one on the dam about 4 ft long, the largest i've ever saw. I relocated him to the creek behind my mothers house. He did have about 3 or 4 small bream in him.(large lump)

Keven,
I am no expert, but I will give you my 2 cents for what it is worth. From the data you have gathered so far, it sounds like things are going pretty good. The range of LMB sounds about right so far. As long as the BG are of various sizes you should be doing fine. Keeping your pond 'in balance' in the future is going to require some effort and planning. I would suggest at least moderate harvesting of the BG soon, and probably LMB as well. If your pond temps have been over 65 for a while the LMB should have spawned, so they should be safe to harvest as well.
Not knowing the exact size of your pond, makes things a bit tough. Your stocking rates were set up ideally for a 1 acre pond, so you are probably overstocked a bit. Nothing that harvesting cannot remedy. Try to keep accurate records of the lengths and weights of caught fish, and use them to guide your future culling. Determining your Relative Weights can be of furter assistance. Some of the resident experts can give you more specifics on exact numbers to cull.
As far as the water snakes go, I would not worry a bit about them. They are not very voracious predators, and they are actually assisting you by culling some of the smaller fish. I have never read anything suggesting that water snakes can have a significant impact on a healthy fish population.

Well, thats my 2 cents...hope you find it useful
Sarc

MHO .. Water snakes like turtles don't do much harm. But, They eat many of the same things my fish eat. I don't feed my fish & prefer fish to turtles & snakes. So try to remove preditors that aren't fish.

Also, I've seen both take fish off a stringer.

Keven,

I also think you are doing great. However, that seems like a lot of bass to stock initially in that size pond. You may have to remove some to get larger bass. For example, I stocked only 50 F1's this spring in a new 2 acre pond. Just depends on what you want...larger bass or lots of relatively small bass.

The fact that you are recatching those fish is a good thing, also. My Floridas were caught only once or twice...and then disappear. I'm hopeful my F1's do as you have experienced. Fishing pressure has to be limited, however.

Snakes...I'm not so sure I agree with Ric on that one....I've caught snakes in my fish traps stuffed with baby BG. They actually drown in the trap eating BG. I don't tolerate them, zero tolerance.

Time to start proper harvest program on bass. Meadowlark not saying snakes can not eat fish they do but make an impact? simple math it will have to be full of snakes to make a diff in fish populations.

Greg,

You are right...emotions take over when I see a snake with my BG in his belly...water turkeys affect me the same way