Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations predator fish

Boy, Gator, my first thought is don't fix what ain't broke!

Unless larger bluegills are important to you, it sounds like you have one heck of a nice largemouth bass population. In the Midwest, we generally figure that we need to "crowd" the bass to produce larger bluegills. A higher density of largemouth bass will thin more small bluegills, and the surviving bluegills grow to larger sizes as a result. However, a higher density of largemouth bass almost always means fewer big bass. So, there is a trade-off. People managing for larger largemouth bass rather than bluegill often need to actually thin the smaller bass. As a result, there is less predation on bluegill and most are small. So, the bluegill are more of a prey species than a sport fish in that case.

In more southerly states, I know that pondowners can overcome this small bluegill program with a feeding program. However, in the northern states, we do not feed because it simply increases our risk for a winterkill.

I don't know much about chain pickerel. However, we do have northern pike up here, which is a larger relative of the pickerel. In almost all cases, the pike are not good in our ponds, as a few of them can eat you out of house and home! They especially are tough on yellow perch, where they compete with anglers for larger perch, and actually reduce both abundance and sizes of the perch. Perhaps the smaller chain pickerel does not cause these potential problems? If so, maybe someone with some experience with them can address this part of your question.

Dave Willis