My pond is 2.5 acres in NE Kansas. We had our first fish kill 4 years ago or so and it was a bad one. Black crappie, Bluegill, and LMB bounced back. I have added around 1,000 6 inch plus YP over the last 4 years partly due to a fish kill 2 years ago July. Th I he perch successfully spawned each spring after. I have also added around 300lbs. of golden shiners breeding size during this same time period. This July we had another fish kill, but I know why this time. I was catching YP from all areas of the pond pretty easily and quickly up until this last fish kill. I haven't been able to catch a single one sense then. Out of the 30 buckets of dead fish I scooped out I probably found 6 dead YP and 4 dead BC. The majority was large BG, LMB, and some grass carp. I have read studies indicating YP can withstand lower DO and higher ammonia than most other freshwater fish. I'm just having trouble with constantly wondering if they are still there. I did manage to catch some small BC so I know they survived. Millions of BG in the 2-6 inch range all over the pond and varying sizes of LMB. After the kill Tilapia were added although not many survived. The pond is weed heavy with coontail and dense mats of FA blanketing the coontail on the bottom. The FA is loaded with millions of scuds I stocked from SD a couple years ago. Theres also abundant insect life throughout. Am I just not locating where the perch are hiding? I also haven't seen a single shiner. Are the Perch just full due to all the forage, or do they just shut down mid summer? Ive tried many locations in the pond with live minnows with no luck. Do you think the perch survived? I will also add the pond has 4 bottom diffusers added just over 1 year ago. Thanks!
Last edited by John Kruid; 10/23/25 12:31 PM.
