Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Managing for both trophy bass and bluegill

]A pond owner in Texas that has a 35 acre trophy LMB "lake" has a few rules. Break the rules, and you cannot fish in the pond. 1) Barbless hooks. 2) Support the fish with 2 hands. 3) Net the fish, keep the fish in the net in the water while you figure out what you are going to do next. This is important because of the next step. 4) The fish can only be out of the water for 30 seconds max. If you want to weigh the fish, leave the fish in the net, weigh everything and then weigh the net after the fish is released, don't hang the fish by it's jaw or worse, the gills. Texas Share Lunker has had LMB come in with broken lower jaws because of poor handling, and the fish never recover. Loss of body slime coating almost always eventually kills fish from various types of mishandling.

This is a customer of mine and a friend. His "pond" is 35 acres, and he's put 10's of thousands of dollars into it, if not over $100K. It is stocked with Share Lunker Bass that he was able to purchase at an auction. Annual stocking of threadfin shad, etc., etc. There have been multiple TV shows filmed there, you just don't know it. His pond, his rules and I agree with him. This "pond" is fly fish only except for rare occasions, and the pond best LMB on a fly rod is in the low teens. I caught one that was just shy of 10#.

If you are invited there, either you adhere to his rules, or you end your fishing trip early and are never invited back. Spicelanbass, once you start dumping that kind of money into your pond, how would you feel if someone came and didn't follow your rules?