hi i have an 18 acre pond that has tons of snails and clams.. the shoreline is literally littered with clam and snail shells.. the pond has a small yellow perch population with some trophy sized perch, also has largemouth bass but they seem to top out around 12 inches. it has a decent population of pumpkinseed sunfish as well as frogs, salamanders and crayfish. its surprising to me that the bass are so small because i've seen ponds with seemingly far less forage where the bass seemed much fat and healthier. i'm wondering if the large amount of clams and snails are hurting my fish populations, all species included. also does anyone have a reasonable explanation for the small size of my bass. i see small sunfish everywhere and the pond has lots of small salamanders and frogs as well as yellow perch i feel like my bass should be much bigger. the pond has water as deep as 22 ft and has about a 20 by 30 flat filled with lily pads, two islands with surrounding weedbeds, several large rock piles along with one shoreline being covered in rocks and gravel, you see crayfish all over that shoreline, three large tractor tires and a small dock. Judging strictly by appearance you would think i have the perfect small bass lake. any help would be greatly appreciated
