Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Need help managing fish population

I am a new owner of a 2 acre pond, maximum depth 14 feet, average depth 6 feet. Four years ago the previous owner stocked 1000 HBG, 300 LMB, 50 CC and 5 GC in the then 2 year old pond. I've fished it heavily for the past 2 months. Total harvest of 2 10 inch LMB, 5 GSF, several turtles and 8 CC, each of which were aprox 27 in and 20 lbs. The CC had been hand fed, and I still feed them occasionally, with as many as 15 to 20 feeding at one time, and all very large. There are tons of very small minnows hugging the shore line.

I'm convinced the hybrid bluegills' offspring are the small GSF, and perhaps the source of most of the minnows. I think the huge catfish have overtaken the pond. I have seen one cause a GSF to jump several feet on shore to escape. I'd like to achieve a balanced BG/LMB pond and unfortunately I have no way to drain the pond except with mechanical means, so that is a last resort. My plan is to eliminate as many of the CC as possible. They already have gotten gunshy though, so this won't be easy. If I am unsuccessful eliminating most of the CC would I be wasting my money to add 10 to 12 inch LMB and some HSB next spring? I'd like them to eliminate the GSF, but there may not be enough prey for them and the CC. Should I bite the bullet and start draining or do you think I can manage my way to a healthy BG/LMB pond?

If managing your way out off the situation does not appeal to you, you can of course drain and renovate. But I bet this is a situation that you can manage, particularly if the CC have not successfully reproduced. I mean, those are big catfish (keep an eye on getting the CC record for Cecil's website - you should have a fair shot if you don't actually shoot all of them), but if there is a small finite number of them, you can keep whittling away one by one over time until there's only a few (or none, if you prefer) left.

That leaves managing the LMB and BG - crowding LMB to control the GSF (or rather GSF-like Fx offspring of the HBG) and adding regular BG to provide a decent forage base for the bass. CW says to crowd the bass and reduce the number of undesirable fish first, then add the BG.

I have a few questions that may help illuminate your path. Do you have info on the current fish populations other than from catching them (say, from observation)? What size and number of (ex-HBG/GSF) do you have? How about LMB size and numbers? Can you catch some of the small "minnows" and see if they are baby bream, or perhaps some actual minnow species? And could you post a picture of the GSF/HBG - we'd love to see what your pond's version of Fx HBG offspring look like, if that's what they prove to be.

Other than the CC I haven't seen any fish larger than a few inches. Some small bream in nests and a few bass no more than 8 to 10 inches. I was told an 18 in bass was caught and released in June, before I took over ownership. There is frequent surface action but nothing ever jumps above the surface like I would expect of a LMB. Grasshoopers swim on the surface all the time yet I've never seen a fish eat one. I doubt I could tell the species of bream from a minnow sampling but I will try, and post photos if I can get good enough pictures. I'll get photos of the Fx HBG too, but I won't be be able to do so until next weekend.

Twenty pound catfish doesn't sound like a problem to me. You need to catch another one and submit it to Cecil's record site and take a picture to post here.
AND answer the tread about growing big channel catfish.
Then when you done with my demands, come over and clean my workshop.