Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose LMB regrets; how to eliminate so I can stock YP & SMB?

Love this magazine and forum! Oh how I wish I had found it a year earlier! Hoping you SMB and YP affection ados out there can help before it is too late.
Mid Wisconsin, newer pond 1.25 acre, limestone bottom, limestone lined sides, ave depth 6', one 45x90 17' hole blasted in (rock used for the edges). Two years of stocking FHM (25lbs each time). The problem... Friend offered and I (pre Pond Boss) accepted several LMB. Last year caught several pre-spawn. This year I have seen about 12 including several big momma's. Spawning is probably right around the corner. I am desperate to be rid of them. I have a Fish Farm license so nearly any means could be employed. They will not strike worms or lures. Built a trap last year, but no takers. Any ideas?

Purchased two perch spawn ribbons last Saturday and planted them. Hoping to stock SMB in the fall.

Jeff,
Do you not want any LMB at all, or do you just want to maintain the 12 big mommas only?

If you don't want any LMB at all, then I suppose shocking the pond and removing only the LMB would help. The only want to make sure you get EVERY SINGLE LMB out, even in a smaller pond, would probably be to drain the pond or treat the water to kill the fish, and then start over. That's obviously a drastic step, but I don't know how serious you are about getting every single LMB out.

Live bait is the best method if you want to use hook & line. You could probably get most of them if you did it long enough, especially this time of year.
Good luck with the SMB...I wish I could have 'em!

davatsa,
Thanks for the quick reply, I really want all the LMB out. From everything I have read here and elsewhere, the LMB will dominate. If I find I need a bigger predator later, I may introduce a couple of Walleye. They probably would not reproduce as well as LMB making it easier to control the numbers. The hook and line method suits me, but I left today to start up some robots and will not be home for about 3-4 weeks.

I know this sounds a little far-fetched....but can you get the robots to kill the largemouth bass?
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Just kidding.

Bruce,
Now where would we be if I could program a fishing robot? Men would be destined to finish the Honey-Do list while the "bot" went fishing. Better would be a Honey-Do "bot" that would free up more time for pond work (a.k.a. enjoyment).

Jeff, are fatheads and LMB all that you have in the pond right now?

If they pull off a spawn, with no other predators in the pond, it could be a big step in the wrong direction. Maybe you have more time to act if you get a later LMB spawn in NE Wisconsin.

If you have a steady source of water, and as davatsa suggests, you might want to consider draining.

PS, I just renewed my Death-by-Robot Insurance policy. You wouldn't believe the rate increase over last year!

Robots are becoming a real problem in my town.

A fishing robot which could be used for this LMB elimination task has been developed. The problem is, it spends a couple of day a week pulling teeth. The robot is shown here deployed on a trout removal job:

Jeff, I'm afraid Dave and Sunil are right; for total elimination you are going to have to treat it as a renovation (drain & rotenone).

OTOH in 1.25 acres, I think you could remove LMB each year and manage them to avoid complete dominance, IF you were willing to restock the SMB. Smallmouth spawns in the presence of LMB have a pretty poor performance from all I've seen.

Thanks for the advice guys,
I have a drain, that can drop the level about 7'; the 17' deep hole would still be 10' deep, but could be treated... After 3yrs of very hard work, I don't know if I could take the heartbreak (And I have a pond-side graduation party in a month for my eldest daughter). As to refilling, at full design height I am still overflowing by about 80gpm (which sounds good to some except for $$ to dye the clear water which runs down the drain).
I have a 100'sandbar that separates the main section from a smaller one (approx 80' dia), that is where we see them the most. I set up fenceposts and some of that fine black deer/bird netting across the sandbar with the bottom swept toward the smaller pond. I've seen some in there, but am not sure if they figured out how to go back. May try laying a net on the sandbar with guys on both ends ready to draw it up when they try to cross...
Or, maybe I should get a mini tournament going and get some real fishermen out here... It's hard to manage a pond when you are on the road! Hoping for a late, late spawn.

The longer you take to eradicate the LMB the longer it will be to realize your goal for a SMB yellow perch pond. The choice is only yours to make. Dr Willis has some comments in old threads about the use of LMB with yellow perch. It can work with proper management. I think the SMB-YP combination is much easier to manage.

While you're deciding what to do, you should get yourself or a friend to start some hard fishing for the LMB now. Whatever number of sexually mature LMB you can remove now will only help down the line.

Use shiners or fatheads for bait. Spray crawfish scent/attractant directly on the shiner or fathead (don't worry, the minnows love it).

As I mentioned before, if you don't get them before they spawn, you'll probably have several thousand LMB, especially with no density of predator fish.

I second sunils suggestion, I live in Florida and the lmb can be dificult to catch. But, you are in luck if they are getting ready to bed. Get you some golden shiners and start working at catching them, the shiners are no silver bullet but if you stay after them they can be caught. Keep trying the hole time they are on the bed the habits change from day to day. Good Luck.