That is likely a question best answered by someone with a lot more experience than me. I can give you some things to think about though till you get some good advice.
The "pro's" I am going to bet, with all the "trash" fish you are starting out with, are going to say nuke the pond and start over with the fish you really want. Probably long run the best advice.
The other alternative is learn to live with what you have and manage around them. That is what I am doing in my old refurbished one acre pond. But I have the luxury of my main pond not having trash fish problems, so I am in a little better situation in that if my management with the old pond doesn't work out well, I still have a "good" pond to fish in.
Is your heart and goals set on specific fish species? If so a bunch of trash fish might never allow you to reach those goals. On the other hand, nuking a pond sets a person that much farther back in the day that suitable size fish are available for angling. I'm at about two and a half years in my main pond and the fishing is just getting pretty decent, at least with the BG and CC(LMB are hard to come by). I would hate the thought of nuking and starting over and waiting that long again.
Where I am fortunate to have both a good pond and a trash fish infested pond, I actually enjoy the old pond a lot. If I am having a hard time catching anything in the main pond, the old pond with the BH and GSF always has a fish willing to bite a hooked line.
If you do decide to kill all the existing fish, be sure you have an idea of how the trash fish got in to begin with. If you kill off everything, yet have fish coming in from a pond or creek above in the watershed, it will have been for naught. If that is the source of the fish, just as well learn to live with them and manage around them.
No good advice from me. Just some things to think about when you get good advice from the experts.
Last edited by snrub; 08/13/15 11:33 PM.
