I recently bought 20 ac in east texas that has an 7 ac lake on it. Ive fished it about 5 times now with pretty good success each time considering I dont freshwater fish very much. Ive caught over 40 LMB, 8 crappie, 1 bluegill (I think), and an alligator gar all on crankbaits. When we closed in july there was lots of floating grass of some type now alot of it has cleared. It seems like the lake and fishery are healthy but I dont know so Im looking for some advice. The lake has been there for a long time it used to be artisan fed but now its runoff. Ill try to attach some pics if I can figure it out. There are 2 other owners of the lake and we were wondering if aeration would help with the grass problem and the fish too? Im sure Im leaving something out so just tell me what more you need to know. Anyways Ive really been enjoying it and reading this sight for the last week or so.
That was the first thing I saw too Dave. The bass look healthy for the most part but under fed somewhat. Some weeds are ok. Can't really tell by the pictures how much weed you have but they say you should have around 20 percent coverage for fish to hide in and minnows to spawn in and weeds to give off oxygen during the day. As far as air helping with the weeds? Not sure on that someone else may have to chime in on that one. Aeration does help a lot of things and promote a helthier pond if done correctly. You would need a pretty decent system for that size (Lake) though. If you can afford it you may want to have someone come and shock it for you so you can tell if you need to add more forage or take out some of the bass. On a lake that size it would be a big help and start you off in the right direction. Like I said if you can afford it.
Last edited by RC51; 09/22/1008:01 AM.
The only difference between a rut and a Grave is the depth. So get up get out of that rut and get moving!! Time to work!!
The weed is a lot better now than it was 2 months ago. Its not really a nuissance but the kids dont like it all over them when there swimming so Im trying to find the balance between the fishing and recreational activities. How much do you think it would be to shock something that size? Im not familiar with that Im assuming the fish are OK afterwards? I really am a rookie at all this management stuff what should the bluegills forage base be? Also I had somebody tell me if I was catching alot of 12-14" bass i needed to start taking some of those smaller males out, any truth to that?
Maybe you can clean up your swimming area only. It doesn't take much room to have a swimming area for the kids. Get a weed rake and get the weeds out and then I use chest waiters to walk around the swim area to start cleaning it up. I remember as kids the only way we got the swim area down to a nice sandy bottom was getting in there and swimming it. So I try to everytime I am at my pond to walk around in it with old shoes on or chest waiters or something to slowly get the muck out of there. It's not a fast process though.
Shocking your lake you need to talk with Greg Grimes he is on this site from time to time. You have a lot of very knowledgable guys on this site from Texas so your in the right area. Don't quote me on this but I believe the cost for shocking would be right around 700 to a 1000 bucks, but like I said you need to talk to Greg about that his website is www.lakework.com It does NOT hurt your fish in any way. Some pond / lakes are not good for shocking though because of their water chemistry, he can help you with that also, but it would be a great investment in you could get it done.
The answer to your last question is yes. If you are catching a lot of 12-14 inch bass you need to get rid of them if you want bigger bass in your pond that is. If you like to catch a lot of small bass then you can leave it alone! 14 inch is a decent bass IMO. If it were me I would start getting rid of anything under 14 first. You may have a LOT of 10 to 12 inchers in there! Look Greg Grimes up on this site he won't stear you wrong he is a great guy and shocking lakes and ponds is part of what he does for a living!
Good Luck
Last edited by RC51; 09/22/1009:39 AM.
The only difference between a rut and a Grave is the depth. So get up get out of that rut and get moving!! Time to work!!
picture 35 from the first group looked like the BG family. I can't tell if is a SF or not. Looks like a great spot.
One thing to think about, since it is a shared BOW. Make sure you have written agreements about what you do to the lake. Three owners can get messy when it comes to paying for stuff, and dividing up costs and responsibilities.
My neighbor doesn't even have access to my pond, and it has been a bear.
Yea were going to sit down and come up with some rules for the lake. Good thing is one of the other owners is my best friend for 15 yrs so I think it will be alright. The crappie in the pic is the smallest Ive caught the others have been 8-10" and the crappie and the gar were caught in the lake. I had a video of the gar but I erased it last night off my phone it was probably 22-24". Thanks for all the responses Im finding all kinds of good info on here. I guess the first thing Im going to do is record lengths and weights of my catches and go from there.
I have disagreed with Bruce before - - but not this time. The body coloration and pattern is not BG but is somewhat RES. The body shape is BGish. Note the length of the pictorial fin's length (see below) - long like a RES. Seems to be a gray edge to the opercular flap which is not BG but is hybrid and RES.
Not positive of its heritage but it is not a pure BG and has some RES traits. Could be other genes in there as well.
I would recommend a fall survey, which would include a management plan for 2011. Water chemistry may need an adjustment in your area, followed by baitfish enhancement and sportfish genetic enhancement. Of course, as you surely are aware by now, there are lots of management techniques that you may adopt to maximize this resource.
Wish I had some of those, but not at the expense of stunted bass due to too few bluegill. Typical scenario. Bluegill start to spawn with another species when they are in short supply. Hope you like catching a lot of small undernourished bass. Have fun. I would take Todd Overton up on the management offer. You could have a great fishery in a couple yrs. Good luck. and congrats on the new property.
Can't hybrids also form if there are too many fish or not enough area for breeding grounds? Say next of different species are too close to one another.
Also I thought some fish are sneaky and dart in quick drop seed and run.