Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Pond "shocking" question

Question for the experts. I have had my pond shocked twice over the last four years. Both times were in mid February, water temp in the low 50's. Both times we toured the bank and most of the shock was done in 2-8ft of water. My pond is about 24 feet deep with fairly steep slopes. I know you can't shock deeper water. Here's my question:

For pond management purposes, analyzing the fish population ect., Is there an ideal month for shocking?

Here are the reasons I ask:

1. Last Feb. after shocking, the pond management firm I used gave me a nice write up on my pond and its needs. One of their top recommendations was that I needed to add TFS. Said they did not notice any from shocking and observation. I had seen several large schools several days before the shock and several days after and told them this. They came and limed a few weeks later and called and told me they saw numerous schools and agreed I did not need more TFS at the time.

2. My pond has a pretty steep slope with a lot of deep water. With water temps in the low 50's, do you get a good sample in the winter months shocking around the edges? I think there was a good supply of fished shocked up (although no shad). Just wondering if perhaps a summer shock would show much different results (and therefore possibly a much different plan of action)?

That is exactly why you need more than one source of info. Shocking is very good but often does not give the whole pic. Creel data , RW , visual observations (including underwater video) , seining and traps are all other info sources. It is like trying to know about your house from one inside and one outside pic. A snap shot in time.

If I had to pick one time in the south it would be late Sept.

I like to have my data assembled and give it to the Fisheries Scientist well before the shocking so that it can all be incorporated into the results. I expect to pay for the extra service/work and am glad to get a more comprehensive report.

There are pros and cons about the best time to electrofish a lake. The "best" time to get the "best" sample is when fish are shallow and at night. Personally, I prefer to sleep at night, but have done plenty of night time electrofishing. The best months, depending where you are and how deep your lake or pond is, is March-early June, then October until Thanksgiving. The pros of electrofishing in the fall is that you can see what happened during the growing season. You can get a good idea about what spawned, what the survival rates have been and what your food chain is like going into the winter months. The cons about shocking in the fall is that you are looking in the rear view mirror. If it's not like you want it, what will you do, stock some fish? Push your harvest quota harder? The pros of electrofishing in the spring months is that you can see where you are before the growing season starts. If you need to alter something, you'll do it in anticipation of spawns. The threadfin shad concept above is a classic case. If you find out you don't have threadfin shad next fall, you can't do anything about it. The cons to electrofishing in the spring is that you don't see the entire results of last years growth except in your predator fish, of which the females will be egg-laden and heavy anyway.

Thank you both for your comments. Makes me realize you need to know your pond well. I would love to get a night shock Bob, just not sure I want to pay the overtime rate!