Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations How many grass carp should i have

Hello to all. I have a 6 acre pond in South Alabama. It is roughly 1 1/2 years old now. The pond is built on the basis of Ray Scots video. The first year i put little over 5000 shad in it and 10,000 bream. I also put 15,000 FHM in it. I just put in 300 Tiger Bass or F1,s as they call them from American Sportfish Hatchery. They went in on may 27th. I have a feed program. They get fed 4 times a day for about 60 seconds each time by a Texas Hunter feeder. Much must not be working properly at because even at 60 seconds four times a day it only uses 50 pounds every 7 days.I fertilize with perfect pond plus. The pond does have a great green coluor to it now and looks very nicely. The PH level as of yesterday is 8.4. See a ton of fish in it every time you walk by it. Which is everyday as it is in my front yard. The goal is to just raise Trophy Bass.

The question at hand is how many grass carp should i have in my 6 acre lake. I put 20 in there to start off with. They are getting really big now. The problem is that they are eating up a lot of my feed that is being put out. Should i reduce the number of them in there and if so what number should i have in the pond.

Thanks in advance for the help and i look forward to seeing the recomendations

Hail to the MONSTER BASS may we all get the chance to feel one on the end of our poles

All I can say is that is a problem I had with grass carp. They liked the feed more than the weeds, even though the species of weeds I have are right on the top of their list of preferred ones.

If you don't have a weed problem why put them in in the first place? If you have good bloom going that should keep your weeds down.

The grass carp was put in along with the bait fish. They went in because it was a recomendation to do so. I now think that the number of them should be reduced. I am asking how many do the experts think should be in there now ? I am sure there is a way to calculate it i just do not know it.

Thanks for the response any info is greatly appreciated.

It all depends on the pond size and the extent of your weed problem. If they are getting big they are probably not eating much of your weeds anyway. The larger they get the less the eat believe it or not.

Does your DNR have a recommended number per acre depending on the extent of your weeds? Some other states do.

Good luck removing them. They are quite difficult to catch and actually a very intelligent species.

If they are eating pellets, and you can stand by the feeder while they do so, then they would be relatively easy to remove. Find someone that bowfishes and they could remove the ones that are eating pellets. It might only be one a day or one per feedind session, but it can be done.

I stocked 20 in a 3 acre pond and they have slicked it up. My issue was Chara and it is solved. However I am at a loss to know what to do for cover/good vegitation. Id love some thoughts on plants I can introduce that are not going to cause problems down the road and that will stand up to GC.

Im thinning the GC now with a 22 auto but its slow as can be and quite redneck according to my bride.

Habitatpro - I put waterlillies (not the wild ones) in my pond and they not only provide cover but also look nice. We have cultivated whites, pinks and yellows and they do not spread to new locations in my pond unless I move pieces of them around. However, if your grass carp have nothing else to eat, they'll pick on the waterlillies. I have no grass carp in my pond because my weed cover has always been right where I want it for providing cover for the small fish. However, a friend with a few large grass carp in his pond says they will eat waterlillies if no other food is available. Pickeral weed and lizards tail might be another couple choices for cover and good looks, but I don't know how they hold up to grass carp. Burreed is another possibility if you do not mind tall reeds near the edge of your pond and you want to encourage migrating waterfowl.

Habitatpro - If you try water lilies you will need to protect the new plants from the grass carp. Grass carp like best the flowers and newest smallest leaves of the water lilies. It could be pretty hard establishing water lilies or any submerged vegetation in a pond with grass carp. Try protecting new plants with fencing or some dense tree brush around the new plants until they are well established.