My dad has two strip pits that we've fished for years but we have never tried to manage them. We've practiced catch and release for the most part. I just built a pond myself and its opened my eyes to pond management. This site is so helpful. I just subscribed to Pond Boss and ordered the Trophy Bass book and look forward to learning more. All my lifelong observations of the strip pits finally make sense. One is 2.25 acres and the other is 1.75. It was stocked several decades ago with HBG, small LMB, and regular BG. With the exception of one 8 lb bass, the LMB have always been around 12". Now I realize we have an inferior BG population that isn't spawning enough to support the overcrowded bass. When I was a kid, I enjoyed being able to catch lots of bass even if they were small. Now we want to want to make these strip pits the best fishery they can be.

So here is my solution. Please let me know if you think I am missing something or should do something different.

My dad's church has a men's group and youth group that fishes out there each summer. I suggested to Dad that we leverage the group and get them here in March. We remove as many LMB as possible. Would a goal of removing 30 lbs per acre be in the ballpark? I don't think a slot limit will be necessary because they'll probably all be under 14" but I'll tell everyone anyways. We'll also fish hard for HBG and remove as many as possbile. We clip the fins of any small bass under 6" and all green sunfish and throw them back to make an easy meal for the remaining bass. I hate to let fish go to waste because they can't be eaten by us. We release all regular BG. Then once we are satisfied that enough predators have been removed, we stock some 4-5" BG in april in time for them to start spawning. Is it OK to stock CNBG if I already have northern BG or should I stick with Northern BG? Will CNBG spawning with Northern BG contribute to inferior offspring? Also how many medium sized BG should we add per acre and is my timing correct? Lastly and most importantly, will my plan work?

Also aeration and supplemental feeding is not an option. There is no electricity and I'm worried about theft. We have a gate but have still lost tree stands. I think we will have the water tested to see if its need fertilization. Its very clear but I've never tested the visibility. Thanks for all your input and suggestions.

Last edited by Kimberwood Farms; 12/26/16 10:46 AM.