Sunil and MN - I learned from my experiences with a male and female n.pike in my 3/4 ac pond. I stocked them as around 15"-22" fish. After several years I managed to remove the male fish but the female, as it got large, always either broke or cut my line before I could land it. I would usually hook the pike while fishing for other fish. The last time that I did catch it and get it close to shore it was a large fish, however it managed to thrash near shore and broke the line. You don't lip lift a big pike
, and without a net they are sort of hard to land. Anyway this fish finally died probably of old age or heat stress and it was 39" long - impressive fish. Once the pike died, it was not long and I started seeing and catching LMB in the 10"-14" range again. That one pike had a big appetite. Often it would hang around the fish feeding area and you could see her eat bass that were there looking for BG.
Ewest - Yes - "
Seine , trap , catch and keep , sort for the weak and small, supp. feeding or adding forage are all ways to improve and balance your pond." These are very good ways to help the predators maintain a balance. More pondowners should do it.
