Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Fish Management for 15ac Lake

Lusk is a big proponent of Threadfins, maybe he can shed some light on what may have caused ML to have issues getting them to survive.

For me, I'm trying every forage fish I can get my hands on + feeding daily now. My Tilapia do fine, but die around 50 degrees, my threadfins should make it 10 degrees below that. Bgill are over abundant, Emerald and Golden Shiners hit worms ! My LMB, HSB, Crappie & CC predators currently can't keep up with my forage offspring...I like that. Here's a Golden Shiner that should be reproducing any day now.

About ten days ago I was fishing at my pond with some friends. We were catching Yellow Perch, Bluegill, Black Crappie, and some Bullheads.

We were fishing with very small fatheads, as that's all the bait shop had.

One of the guys put on a small fly-like jig, real small, and fished using a bobber and about 2' of lead. He repeatedly cast to the same spot and pulled out about (8) Golden Shiners, just like in Eastland's picture above.

So we threw the Golden Shiners in the bait bucket. I put one of them on a hook and caught a 3.14 lb. Smallie within about 30 seconds after casting.

Seeing this guy repeatedly catch those Golden Shiners gave me mixed emotions.

1) I felt excited that I could potentially catch live bait to fish with whenever the bait shop did not have Shiners or Fatheads. Good Feeling.

2) The Shiners I've stocked over the past few years have taken hold and are of breeding size. Good Feeling.

3) Why are there so many Golden Shiners of that size in my pond that has substantial predator base? Not So Good Feeling.

4) Am I going to be overrun with Golden Shiners? Not So Good Feeling.

5) Why do I have 200 lbs. of large Golden Shiners being delivered this Saturday? Somewhat Queasy Feeling.

Sunil:

Welcome to the "Do I have too many Golden Shiners?" Club.

When the answer is "yes," tell me how much FA you have. I need another data point.