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

I have an 8 year old three acre pond. In year 5 a 6 and 7 lb bass was caught. Since then the largest has been around 3 lbs. Any thoughts on where the large ones have gone? No sign of any kills. How can you determine the age of a fish other than size?

Mike,

More than likely they are still there....you just can't catch them. Florida bass, in particular, as they age, become significantly shy of any artificial lures/flys. It is problematic is small catch and release ponds with fishing pressure. They are most likely there, just not catchable.

In central Tx. on a 1.5 acre tank we have a similar problem. We caught about a 7-8 lb. bass two years ago on a minnow and have caught some 5 lb's since, but nothing larger. The water cleared not too long ago and we could see the larger bass but they would not bite. I think the Florida strain is a bit more adaptable and since then I moved some natives from another tank to that tank and have had better bites from the Florida strain fish but still have not equalled the big boy. I think lures are history once successful and only live bait will work when stealthily presented. They are probably still there.

Mike, 1) I would be concerned about trespassers.
2) In a 3 acre pond, you should have a very good chance of seeing them in the shallows during the spawn. 3) Bigger fish eat bigger bait. 4) Are you catching more small bass than before ? It's all a big puzzle, you just need to put the pieces together.

Don't buy into the theory big bass won't bite, they have to eat to stay alive...Lusk gave a nice perspective in Pond Boss issue before last. For grins, try a big Zara Spook one night, well after dark, on a full moon.

Mike :

Need more info to even make a guess. They may still be there. Scales can be used for aging fish. They have annulii or growth rings {like on trees}.

A couple of observations. The average life expectancy of LMB in the south is 10 years+-. If your stockers are 8 years old there may not be many left especially if you took out 6 & 7 lbs's in year 5 . If your pond is bass crowded as most in the south are then you could have a size gap between the original stockers and the rest. It is not in that situation unusual in a 8 year old pond to have only a few big fish and many small ones with a gap between the two { not many 3-4 lb fish}. That is typical of a bass crowded 8 year old pond in the south.

With out more facts I don't know if this applies to your situation. Good luck .ewest

Mike, re-reading your post, I have a question for you. First, this question is meant for fact gathering, please dont be offended. Do you know how the current bass population stands as to their size and weight ? There are a lot of us who share "relative weight" charts here. I will gladly send you the spreadsheet to see how your bass measure up to the "test". E-mail me (under my profile) and I will send a valuable bass & bgill tool. p.s. you need Excel, but most PC's come loaded with it.