A recent PB Mag article covered the idea of helping control LMB populations by various methods of spawn/yoy control. Partial rotenone of beds (by a professional) , seining the beds while fry are present etc.

You guys need to subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine !!!!!
I am not going to do this very often. Here is an example of ideas/topics covered.

The Cutting Edge - Science Review


Spawning Survival Manipulation


The Pond Boss Forum has numerous threads on aiding spawning by such things as making beds (nest sites), adding cover (brush or dense trees) near nesting sites or supplemental feeding to increase numbers and growth of hatchlings. However the methods of how to decrease hatchling numbers and survival are not often considered. For example removing Yellow Perch egg ribbons from the pond to reduce potential hatching numbers is a method of population control.

Male Bass create shallow nests in the substrate where females then deposit their eggs .The male fish guards the fertilized eggs from predators until after they hatch, grow, and become free swimming or �swim-up� fry often staying with the swim-up fry until the school of fry (or fry ball) disperses. Knowing what can disrupt nesting and survival is a must to use this tool. A new study titled Factors Influencing Nest Survival in Florida Bass by Z. Slagle and S. L. Shaw in Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 146:696�702, 2017 Volume 146, 2017 - Issue 4 ) (� American Fisheries Society 2017 gives insight.

The survival of both Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass offspring can depend on a number of physical and biological factors, including the size and age of the guarding male, bed fishing pressure, and environmental changes during the nesting period. Many nest attempts fail, and hatchling abandonment is common due to storms, sudden temperature changes, angling, and nest predation. If the male bass abandons the brood (or is fished or runoff off of the nest), the brood is unlikely to survive long. Often Bass nests are easily visible and can be fished. If the guarding male is removed you have likely eliminated his hatchlings from increasing the Bass population. This can be an effective tool in reducing Bass recruitment and overcrowding.

Two additional methods of reducing Bass spawning success are seining the nesting area or a partial rotenone treatment of the nest area. Seining and bed fishing can be easily accomplished by pond owners while rotenone application is best left to professional fisheries managers.


Last edited by ewest; 02/27/18 12:17 PM.