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

i still have not removed any bass from my pond(approx 5 1/2 acres,4 years old)fish seem to be very healthly and sizes range from very small to 171/2inches.is this normal??average being about 13-14 inches.bass fishing seems to be fair to good.I thought by now i would need to take some bass out of the pond but it's not like you catch a bass every 20 minutes.i thought maybe since we've added on to the pond several times this might be the reason bass fishing is fair and maybe as the pond gets bigger the bass are still growing into the larger area.is it safe to say that since bass are not shinny and seem to be very healthly everything is ok and not to remove any bass at this time.thankswilliam

I kind of like the ol' axiom, "If it ain't broke don't fish it." If your bass are not overly abundant and your relative weights are fine then don't do anything you don't need to do.

my standard answer, depends on goals. 17.5 inches in 4 years in LA my clients would fire me. We get that in 2 years. Not braggin just giving example of growth with good harvest plan. IF you enjoy catching those 13-14 inch bass then do not remove. If you want better growth remove some of the bass that are the most common size.

The rule at my pond(same age as yours) starting last summer was all LMB 12 inches and under come out. Already seeing results.

wont the larger bass eat the smaller bass?