Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Where are my Bass?

bc - See my credentials under your Aeration-Fountain post. I know D.Fender quite well and have done a lot of business with him. I have even given talks at his "hatchery". Mention my name and you will get a response from him. Fender claims that HE taught me everything I know about raising fish. (Also, Keep in mind that I and most of us on this forum said crappie should be stocked only with care and lots of fore-thought, preplanning and close & proper mgmt, many cannot achieve this). He knows what he is talking about, BUT he does not always tell you the whole story or the other side of the picture or about some of the bad times with crappie. Remember, he is there to SELL YOU FISH and you are there to buy fish. What a combination !!!

Your TWO yr old bass in SE OH could easily be 14" long by now if they had plenty of food and did not have a lot of competition for growth from other fish predators such as crappie. Once you catch a few of your bass you will be able to get a feeling on how their growth has been so far. Smaller bass means not enough food and too many hogs feeding at the trough. The smaller your bass are from 14" mark the more competition there has been for food and each is not getting enough to eat.

I have seen LMB in NW OH go from 3" to 12" in one summer (Apr to Oct). It is possible in our region for those 12" bass to grow another 3" to 4" to 15" to 16" in the second summer in your pond. Cecil on this board has done it; I've seen the fish.

Fish will grow as long as food is in excess. Limit the amount of food,,, and growth slows or stops.

Copy all this stuff and keep it for reference for your fish sampling sessions this spring. Come back next spring and tell us about your bass sampling experiences and Fender's advice. We may be able to learn a few hints from the "wise old fish farmer"..