Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat Too Much Structure?

Can there be too many trees in a pond if the goal is big bass? I am currenlty siphoning my pond of about 1.5 acres due to overstocking by the previous owner. I am going to hit it with fhm and gs in the spring, bluegill in the fall and lmb spring of 2010. As it is siphoning down I am discovering that the whole shallow end of the pond has submerged trees. I have gotten snagged some when fishing but was very surprised to see just how many trees are down there. My question is, can to many trees give the forage an advantage over the bass?

It depends on the type of tree. If there are cedars the forage fish have an advantage because they can hide in the dense limbs. If they are like oak limbs the bass will use them as a ambush sites.

The general rule is to have 20% of the pond covered with some type of structure.

Thanks Chris. As the pond siphons down more I will get a closer look and decid if need to thin them out a little.

mbj4ksu
Sounds like you are on the right path.
How are you going to get the trees out of the shallow end?

Otto

otto, If I decide I need to remove some of the trees, I can walk out there in my boots and pull them out by hand. Might have to take a chainsaw to some bigger ones. The pond is only about 5 years old so my feet only sink about 6-8 inches. The reason for siphoning and starting over is that the guy who had it built and then stocked put twice as many fish as needed and the only bluegills he put in were hybrids. I bought the land and pond not knowing this. After 2 years of catching tiny bass even with lots of harvesting I finally called the previous owner and got the stocking specs. I now have 5 year old bass that are 8-10 inches long. I am starting over next spring.

How big is the structure mass?

I have almost the same problem as you except for the overstocking. I have begun to open up some of my denser structure using a large Echo brush cutter and turning it into ambush sites for the LMB. I did not drain and just wade around cutting what I see since the pond is 4' low and visibility is up to 4'. The brush cutter is strong enough to cut underwater, though it is slower than on land and I am sure the water is not good for the cutter head. On land it will cut through 4" trees in one swipe with a sharp blade with no bending, chain sharpening, or kickback hazard like a chainsaw would have. I have also dragged out a few larger trees with a winch, it saves time spent dragging it out piece by piece.

That is easy enough.
I watched a man back a 16 foot trailer benind a tractor in his pond until the floor was covered with water. Got on his rubber boots and a chain saw and cut as much as he could.
That may have been the toughest job ever.

Otto