Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations 2000 acre Lake

Our Bass club has influence over stocking a private lake in the midwest (2500 acres). The thing is, the fishing is pretty good all ready.(big bass, large and small mouth, big blue gills and crappies and catfish, good structure etc..) But if we dont spend the money it will be gone, so....

should we...

just "feed" them with minnows

Stock walleye? (we've done it for 2 years now)

New bass or spotted bass...

any ideas?

I think I would first hire a professional to do an analysis to determine whether I had a problem. The opportunity and responsibility of dealing with anything on that scale can be overwhelming and expensive. Will your state guys help?

We did a shock survey 4 years ago. It really only tells you what is there, down to 10 feet (in a 90' deep lake). It also costs 1 years budget. It basically said the lake was fine.

If everything was essentially OK and still seems OK, I would probably not mess with it. I think you could go a long way though in sleeping nights by getting a written plan. For example, a log by all fishermen would be a great help and an absolute starting place. It might be the basis for making slot limit decisions. Or you might want to keep all bass under 13 inches or have crappie tournaments. You need to find out something about your bluegill base. These could all be maintenance issues but the log is the starting place. After a couple of years, have the log reviewed by a pro. That is probably a lot cheaper than a shocking survey. There also might be some pro's that you could make honorary club members.

Not sure yearly budget $, but just b/c it shocks 10 ft. does not mean it will not provide a good sample. Also getting a written mgmt plan will provide necessary information to spend money in the right areas to achive the clubs goals. We will be near Evansville near end of May if intersted in getting a proposal.