After doing some reading here and at other resources I have come to some conclusions. 1 I really believe my pond to be overrun with LMB. 2 I think that the CC I have in here are also a problem as they have become a large predator. The ones we are catching are around 3lbs. 3 I used to have crappie (don't remember of white or black) but have not caught one since summer of 2017 so I would say that they are gone or not many around. I guess they lost out to the LMB. 4 I don't catch BG or GSF like I used to even though I have been bucket stocking them pretty regular for the past 4 yrs. What I have put in were 2 to 6 inch size. Some even larger. Now I have not fished for them but I would get some hitting the minnows I used to fish for the LMB. 5 We have put BH in the pond ever since it was built over 20 yrs ago and I have yet to catch one. Now I did see a cloud of fry this past summer so I believe there are some in there.
Now here is what I have done and plan on doing to improve my pond.
1 Expanded pond size to a little over an acre. I did that this summer and will continue to make it bigger. It won't be any deeper, I have maxed out on my levee and fishing dock as far as dept.
2 Fish hard for the LMB and CC so I can reduce their numbers to give the BG a chance.
3 Continue to add BG and GSF and not keep any till I start catching some of all sizes.
4 Work on some more brushpiles to help out the little fish.
5 Started a journal to keep up with fish caught and put in the pond along with any observations.
6 I want to add some RES to the mix but I have got to find larger sizes cause of the LMB
My goals for the pond are to have a fairly balanced pond to where I can go and catch BG GSF LMB and CC. I want the grandkids to be able to catch something about every time we go out. Now my priorities might change over the years because some of those monster BG look pretty good. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
