Background and conditions: Until the past two years, our pond has been a bass and crappie wonderland. We're almost talking in terms of the old Miller Lite commercial where the fish are jumping in the boat.
However, the fishing has been on a decline, and about this time last year we knew we needed to do something, but didn't know what yet. About that same time I found this forum (what did we do before the internet
). This past year the bass were tough to come by, and the crappie are nowhere to be found. 5-6 pound bass used to be commonplace, and now a 2-1/2 pounder is a rarity. So, we knew the population was down, but not why.
Well, we now know at least one reason why! We have a damn bass predator! Because of the nice weather we have been having here in the midwest, we decided to head down to the farm to bring in the new year. As soon as I walked on the dock of our pond I was struck by a foul odor, but couldn't find the source. Next day my son spotted it while in the paddle boat. Decaying heads of about 7 bass underneath the dock's decking.
While there are other things I need to address like food chain and vegetation issues, we now know one reason the population is less than it was. Question is, what's the predator? I see what looks like a Muskrat burrow in the bank of the dam, but I can't verify that he's there. Even if there's one around, my understanding is that they are vegetarians.
What's your guess folks? Whatever it is, it would have to be able to catch the live bass, and also be able to climb from the water to the underside of the dock.
