I have a 6 year old pond in East Texas that I stocked 6 years ago. The LMB and catfish population seems to be doing well, however the crappie and bluegill I stocked are basically non-existent. Do I try to restock these species or not? The lake has a clay bootom that makes water clarity murky most of the year as well. Any hints on clearing up the water as well. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Lownums

I'd definitely want to restock BG to provide a forage base for the LMB (and CC). I suggest you read through the Crappie argument threads and redecide if you really want them. If the answer to THAT question is still yes, stocking them into a pond with a well established LMB population is probably one of the better Crappie scenarios.

How big is your pond? What sizes are your LMB and CC now?

Theo, the pond size, 8 ac. is in the topic heading. Certainly not an expert, but I would want to try and clear the pond to try and establish an algae bloom next year and to allow the forage species to spawn and prosper. You had 3 predators on BG. Are you looking for a balanced pond? Do you feed?

Lownums, did you see any evidence of Bluegill spawning beds in the shallow areas of your pond this past spring?

Along the lines of Theo & Burger's thinking, if your existing predators are getting big, any restocking of Bluegill or Crappie will have to be done with adult stockers, or maybe use some kind of blocking net to let mid-size stockers get bigger while protected from the predators.

Dude, where's my brain? :rolleyes:

The new PB motto?

Careful what you wish for!

The largest Bass is 6 lbs. and largest CC caught is about 5lbs.

I do not feed currently. I mainly fish for the bass, but my son and nephews like to catch the CC or bass. Any suggestions on feeding?

To DIED and Shorty...I spawned, therefore I did not prosper.. Iownums...here are the basics, either you have a good number of BG, or you did have. You could not have grown bass and CC to that size without them. If you dont see any evidence of them now; either the water is too murky to promote good spawns, or, if spawning, they do not have enough to eat without feeding or a plankton bloom. Try seining or trapping to see if, in fact you have BG. If you dont find any, or many, you MUST restock or you will lose your fishery.

Burgermiester - I know Bruce would have a cow if there was spawning going on in one his all male BG ponds. Likewise, we have a very fertile pond and it's a constant managment problem trying to keep the LMB from getting overcrowed.

What size BG do you suggest? The lake has lots of flooded timber, mostly old cedar trees so there is good cover for the bait fish to hide in. Also we put in sloted PVC pipe for the minnows to spawn in. The flathead minnow population seems to be doing well, and we have also started harvesting about 100 lbs. of fish a year to prevent stunting.

It sounds to me that you dont need to do anything.(except try and clear it up some) I would contact one of the Pond Boss advertisers in you area that manage ponds. Get in contact with Bob Lusk, for his advice. With that size lake, a shocking survey may be the only way to determine pond balance.

with your description of forage fish cover, and that your FMs are doing well, i agree w/ burger...sounds like you should still have plenty of forage and you might just have to improve yer water quality.

have you targeted BG recently (e.g. by fishing your dense cover w/ worm and bobber)? or are you basing your statement that all the BG are gone just on visual inspection?

My basis is on visual evidence only. I am going to try fishing and trapping to make sure.

I think your best bet is to have the pond surveyed by a certified fishery biologist. Not only will you receive vital information regarding your fish population, but also regarding pH, alkalinity, fertility, structure, vegetation, feeding, etc. This service is not cheap but really not expensive either, considering the effectiveness of a solid management plan.

Thanks for all the suggestions, I have found the bluegill and they seem to be doing ok. I checked my records and originaly put in 5k bluegill. Water has cleared up and last Friday I caught a LMB weighing 9lbs. 8 oz. New personal and lake record.

lownums, that's a big fish. Awesome.

Maybe you'll have to change your screen name to "high"nums!