Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Placing branches down for YP spawn

Catching 30 YP then nothing suggests to me that the overall number are not there. Were the 30 YP you caught released or harvested? When YP are abundant in a 1 acre or less pond you can always catch then with worms or minnows fished along the bank in 4-6 ft of water. IF you have 1000 YP per acre you should be able to just about catch YP any time you fish with live bait except mid-summer.
Have you tried trapping some FHM and using them for bait?

We have to remember this pond has only one year class of YP in it and has not had spawn. Once you see the abundance of egg ribbons this will provide a fairly good relative estimate of fish density. Traps for YP do not need to be set deep. If YP are present with IMO an adequate YP density you should be able to catch them in larger traps set 2.5 to 4 ft deep especially during spawn season. YP move close to the shoreline seeking groceries. YP do not eat tadpoles although reproducing SMB will eliminate tadpoles when minnows are scare or uncommon. An abundant population of FHM also suggests low numbers of adult YP. IMO 300-500 YP per acre will fairly quickly reduce the numbers of FHminnows especially those 1" to 1.5" individuals during fall, winter and spring until the FHM spawn. Surviving SMB should also be preying heavily of the larger FHM. What do you estimate the numbers of SMB to be?. You catching SMB while fishing for YP? How big are your SMB you catch?