Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations First Post - Managing 27 Acre Pond

When you had the survey done, how much cover did they say to add to the lake?

Bass need to weigh "X" at "X" length before can get longer. Bass need to eat fish that are 1/4 to 1/3 their body length to get enough calories without expending more calories chasing prey than they are getting in return when they DO capture their prey. Remember, they aren't successful 100% of the time.

The higher number of 12"-13" bass that are closer to 100 RW is telling me that you have a higher population of bluegills in the 3"-4" range than you do of bluegills in the 4"+ size range. Comparing the two graphs, see how the RW of the bass is dropping in bass that are greater then 12" in length from last year to this year?

Add a BUNCH more cover that has smaller openings in it for the smaller BG to hide, and place that near the BG spawning areas. I would bite the bullet and get at least one Texas Hunter Feeder, place it near the shallow water area and feed Optimal Bluegill feed. One feeder won't do much in a BOW that size but it will help. Much more than adding forage fish. I'd put a slot limit on the bass, telling people to remove every 10"-14" bass that they catch. Sure it won't be popular, but if you want to turn the fishery around it's gotta happen. Look at how the RW's are dropping in the last year..............

Once you have the bass numbers reduced so the forage fish population starts to rebound, then it's time to start concentrating on putting cover in the lake for the bass. If the bass don't have places to loaf and grab a meal as it swims by, all you will have in the lake are marathon runners. Bass constantly swimming around looking for something to eat, constantly burning more calories than they should.

You have to stop focusing on trying to grow big bass and focus on getting the forage fish population up. The only way to do that is to reduce the amount of small bass in the lake and increase spawning habitat & cover for the Bluegills. With the water clarity, there isn't a lot of food for the BG, that is why you need to start feeding them.

Lets forget about bass for a minute. When the electroshock survey was done, what did they say about the bluegill population? If people fish for BG, what size distribution are they catching? Next 4-5 fishing trips you do, don't fish for bass at all. Go bluegill fishing and make a chart exactly like you did for the bass. Don't even take any bass rods or bass lures along, just panfish tackle. Length/weight. Report back here with those numbers. You will learn a lot about the bass growth potential by paying close attention to what they have to eat.

Do you have a copy of that electroshock survey? Can you post it here?