I've been playing the carp game for years. If I were you, and if this was an option, I'd pump the pond dry and kill it off and start over. They absolutely destroy the bottom of your food chain and it's very difficult to gain much from that point on.
Also of note is that I read a study from Minnesota that ponds full of BG have 11 times less common carp reproduction than lakes that don't. The theory is that they forage on carp eggs and larva. I'd assume this is true with PS as well.
My experience in a similar sized pond was that I controlled the reproduction. The problem became that carp are such long lived fish, that even if you stop reproduction completely you'd need to rid the pond of all adults. And that isn't as easy as you'd think. In fact, I'd say it's nearly impossible.
If I were you, I wouldn't fight the battle I've been fighting for 20 years. I'd kill it off and start over.
Thanks for the reply! Unfortunately, even if I kill the pond off, I believe carp will eventually find their way back in, whether it takes 1, 5, or 10 years. Between your advice and Bill Cody's, it seems the best course of action is to focus on predation of year of young carp, rather than the large ones. Thus, it sounds like I should get about getting it stocked ASAP.
What rates would you guys recommend for my stocking? The PS which I found are 1.5-2", but they are quite expensive. The source where I plan to get the LMB has both 3-5" and 6-8" fish at a much more reasonable price. I figure the best course of action would be to stock the bare minimum of PS to make sure I get a population started, and then make sure to stock plenty of LMB to hopefully go to work on potential yoy carp. However, I have no idea what number would actually achieve these two goals, or which size LMB I should get. Input from those more experienced than I would be greatly appreciated!
