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

BOB LUSK,i was reading your book last night and it said the following:a pond normally can only carry about 40-50 pounds of mature bass per acre(i think the number was 30-50)what does this mean??does this mean we can take total acres x average bass and have a general idea how many bass are in a pond.are does this mean we could blank number of 1 lb. bass plus mature fish.also write a new book and make a new video tape,my wife says i've read the books you have 10 times and said if i dont get a new tape to watch see is going to divorce me,not sure about this one.allthough the tape might be cheaper.

I have a few hundred pounds of bass in a pond less than an acre but I plant feed trained bass annually and continue to feed them high protein low carbohydrate pellets.

I am growing them for a niche market but this shows you can have quite a few pounds of bass if you are willing to feed them. I have about 75 bass right now that are 2 to 4 lbs. Harvest method is mostly hook and line with some electroshocking.

Lee, the number you are quoting is a generalized number. Cecil can beat it badly because he is a professional who intensively manages and does it for a living. However, for most of us a pond can only hold a certain biomass without consequences. We are looking for a balanced pond where predators and prey pretty well maintain an approximate status quo over time. In my case, I started with a one acre pond that I think was pretty well balanced. Then the catfish went on a serious growth streak and quit biting Next, no rain and I have a 1/2 acre pond and really need to get some hook wise catfish out. Two forage ponds have dried up. Bass survival and growth? Who knows? Had I been fertilizing, it would have been a real disaster.

Bottom line. I would probably rotenone the pond, turn it into a swimming pool, throw Lusks book away and never pay another divorce lawyer. That stuff is serious.

Cecil, how do you like the low-carb pellets? Is it making a difference? We've had rather equivocal results. The fish are doing well on them, but I'm having a hard time justifying the additional expense. I'm assuming you're using the Melick feed.

Mike,

Not sure either. Just going by what the literature out there says and trying to play it safe. However, I'm not sure if I will stay with Mellick. I've had some quality control issues with some mold and carrion beetles crawling out of the bags of feed last year. About the same time I had the mold, which I did not catch right away, I had some stress with my bass causing some bacterial problems which may have been attributed to the feed. I keep my feed in an air conditioned building and it was not old. I have a friend in Ohio that had the same problems.

I think I may go with silver cup exclusively as it seems the quality is more constant as that is what I am using for my brook trout right now.

Are you using Silver Cup for your bass? If so, which feed are you using for your larger bass -- say -- 1 to 3 lbs?

I'm not concerned as much with the feed cost as I have a much, much, smaller operation than you and I get over $10.00 per pound for my bass.

Typically, we feed silvercup steelhead, which I think is 45% protein and 16% fat. But we are messing around with a lo-carb silvercup, which is 45% protein and 25% fat.

FYI, our list price (less than $300 order) for 10"+ Largemouth is $12.00 per pound. I know that Jone's price is in that ball park also. It's not cheap to raise bass up north!

I hear ya! I wish they would grow as fast as my trout do, although on commercial feed they grow faster than wild bass on natural feed.

Thanks for the prices but I tyically purchase smaller 4 to 6 inch bass locally, feed them in a floating cage, and liberate them into the pond with the rest of the larger bass when they are greater than 8 inches. They seem to do very well in a large floating cage about 7 to 10 feet X 7 to 10 feet. I have a small 11,000 gallon holding pond now I can grow them out in too.

Lee,
I'm impressed! I've only read my books twice.
An "average" pond can produce enough forage fish "naturally" to support 40-60 pounds of largemouth bass per surface acre of water. Depending on the season, that number may consist of 5,000 bass, but during another season it may be 100 total fish. They eat each other. That makes the population dynamic.
No divorce...I'll work on a new book. Just finished a two cd audio seminar set. Will formally announce when they are in hand.