Not sure how to take this most recent development so I'm going to ask for advice. Some of the old timers on the board will recall my original plan for a small pond with big male BG only. Then the bass showed up and on their shirttail came the BG fry. Overall, I'm satisfied with the results, even having reproducing bass and BG but todays unwelcomed addition needs to be addressed.....I think.
In preparation of mucking out the stream that feeds this pond (to create a small FHM forage pond), I started pumping water out the other day. A few more hours of pumping will cause the stream bed to go dry but the pond will still be about 80% full. As I was raking out some algae and weeds around the perimeter of the pond, I noticed a couple of small fish in amongst the weeds. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be 1-1.25" bullhead!
With the original plan some what skewed already, it certainly did not include bullhead. (Side note: I have never caught a bullhead in this pond so perhaps the bass are keeping them in check.) Given those facts, I'd like to hear comments on how you guys would proceed with this.
Would you (1) continue to pump the pond dry, glean out the big BG and sex them for restocking in hopes of getting the original plan back on track, (2) leave as is hoping the bullhead will not become a problem, or (3) options from the board.
Thanks in advance for all replies.
Here is a link to a bird's eye view of the pond.
http://www.zillow.com/aerial/DualMapPage.htm?zpid=66894940Russ
