Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations 9 acre resevoir lmb overpopulation

That sweet I was able after some trouble find a fishery reasonable close to me which can get in tiger muskie in a few weeks but also regular muskie if I let him know that would be my preference. I told him today my preference would be tiger muskie and I didnt tell him the exact number but I said about 8. That was what I figured off the top of my head since there smaller but further advice on that would be welcomed. I just think they seem like the better option because I dont have difficylties sexing them and no worrys of them reproducing. Also there smaller and may be a better fit. Also with them I think I shouldnt have much of any worry about them killing big bass. But remember my problem is the bass, do you think will do as well with small to medium bass as a lesser amount of real muskies would?

Phone correction didnt mean to add that sweet lol

Little tigers grows up to be big tigers. Big tigers are trouble for bass population. Chose wisely on your tiger circus ring master.

tiger circus ring master? whatcha mean? fyi i used an area calculator the pond is 9.579 acres and has a 3/4 acre flat thats 1.5 to 3 feet deep

and also fyi i have now fished with the big bass fluke for a biggin for a total of 10 or 11 hours this week with only one bite which was just a little bass with the tenacity to eat a lure half his size...

tribulator, who owns the pond/reservoir?

my dad

Sounds like a nice fishery to have! Congrats.

yup its awesome, i really enjoyed all the small fish and catching alot as a kid but just recently like a couple years ago realized its overpopulated and finally want to do something about it. and another fyi to everyone the tigers and muskie i can get will be around 12 inches and 20 bucks a piece when i get them. i dont think that sounds like a bad deal at all right?

Sounds right price wise.

The only thing about using them is that you cannot tell them what fish you want them to target when they are hungry.

I think you will have better long term results using a method that will target the exact size and species of fish that you want to remove.

ya i know but i also want a self sustaining method though, not one where i have to spend lots of money or find something to do with hundreds of bass i catch a year. has anybody here seen this thread? http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=232366 he adds 12 tigers to a 5 acre pond and now has big bass and crappie. however i do not want to add so many that in a couple years i have to start taking them out i would rather just add enough that i can leave them in there and they wont eat more than i want them to once they get big. im pretty positive im going to try the tiger muskie at this point unless someone here makes a good point to not do it or one for regular muskie instead. I would appreciate some stocking numbers, the ones i get will be 12 inches.

It's better to start at the lowest end, and slowly add in when need as the 3 to 4 of the tigers cannot keep up with the bass population control. Only add in 1 tiger at a time after a 9 months period, until the bass population falling into a sustainable balance.

Since you've chosen your method of approach, ring master of the tiger muskies, make sure to monitor your reservoir more intently. Like I said, it's either male, or female, in which you are positive of your skills in identifying them. Males are aggressive, as we've indicated, and very territorial. Add them in at different part of the reservoir, and only add more in (1 at any given period of time after the initial 3 to 4 males, or even 5 females at max for this time).

With an abundant of food source, those 12 inches will be huge in not time after one full year. With such large bass population, why not try the 4 males for now, or 5 females. Your call. 12 right off the bat, you're going to have fun hunting the monsters down later if you need to do some damage control.

Sweet, I like your approach 4 it is. So you still have to sex tiger muskie I didnt realize that. I still like it better because if I mess up at least I dont have to worry about them reproducing. And no im certainly not positive in my skills of sexing them I was hoping my friend google would help me out with that when I get to that step. Thank you I will have to get back to you guys in a year to let you know how it went.

If there are bigger LMB in the pond, they might like to eat a 12" Muskie.........

I'd follow Nate's plan on fish per acre. He's had pretty good success managing peoples ponds.

How long do you want the process to take? Lets think about this in reverse order for a minute. How many fish do you want to remove total? (not just LMB because a Muskie won't stick to eating just LMB) And of what size? How many fish of what size will a 12" Muskie eat per year? Figure they'll grow to 18" - 20" a year after stocking. Will those 4 muskies be able to eat enough fish?

Ya im not quite sure how many exctly I want or need to remove. I just want to improve the fishing and if while im at it I can also get some big bass that would be another plus.

I dont see a nate on hear are you talking about leo? And ya I know it wouldnt be an immediate effect but I would be happy if I could see an improvement of somesort next season. And big bass lol I'v been fishing for big ones this whole week 10sh hours so far with the fluke and I have fished every square inch of it. Trying more big bass baits over the weekend. There has been lots of times in the past that I have used frogs and overall just fished it a lot and like I said just never really produced big bass. In the past year I have caught 2 biggish ones. The same size that were maybe 2.5 or 3 pounds. Would the possibility of a few bigger bass be enough to warrant me raising these muskie till there bigger?

Sorry. Nate Herman of Herman Brothers Pond Management is n8ly.

http://www.hbpondmanagement.com/

you know whats funny, the other day i was searching through the forums here and found a thread that made it seem n8ly has first hand experience on the subject. and already sent him a pm last night lol.

How do I check my inbox after I already viewed a msg and the flashing letter symbol disapears?

Click on "my stuff", click on "messages" and click on the message that you want to read.

Thanks