Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - Pond restoration questions

Good morning.

I am a newly subscribed forum member. After perusing the threads, there looks to be some really great info in here!

My family has a roughly 3.5 acre pond that was originally filled and stocked back in 1995 with LMB and BG. Lack of maintenance, particularly in the last 10 years or so resulted in a bass-crowded pond with a severely depleted BG population. My goal is to get the pond back in balance and produce a healthy LMB population for myself and my two teenage sons. The pond has about an acre and a half of open water averaging about 12 feet deep with the deepest point being probably 16 feet. The other 2 acres or so gradually become shallower and have two fingers on the far end corners that go to around 1-2 feet.

Some key characteristics following an electro-evaluation I had done: Alkalinity: 2.1 PPM (yikes)...50 LMB were removed during the evaluation totaling 13 pounds (double yikes)...only 1 BG was collected...Decent sized infestation of slender spike rush grass

Plan beginning this summer and through next Spring:
- Harvest around 90 lbs of LMB between now and this time next year (daunting challenge considering, based on the results of the evaluation, this would be roughly 350 bass). I'm right at 50 lbs now with 193 bass.
- Suspend BG harvest until further notice
- 50 grass carp for the slender spike rush - stocked last month
- 25 tons of lime to be put in either end of this month or next month
- 125 lbs of fertilizer starting last month and ending in October
- installed one feeder at end of dock - using Purina Game Fish Chow - 3 feedings per day at 6 seconds each
- Attempting to add cover/habitats in strategic locations to condense the fishing areas
- 8000 intermediate BG stocked in the Fall
- 275 lbs of fertilizer from March-October next year
- 10,000 TSH to be stocked next Spring

So, a few questions/issues that I have been mulling over lately:

Turtles - I have a decent number of turtles in the pond. The evaluation mentions that they are not an issue to the fish population, but I have noticed that, unless I am standing on the dock, they are all over the pellet feed. Can that be an issue? Particularly since I know the carp will be eating some too.

I am having some issues finding the fish, at least in bunches. For a "severely bass crowded" pond, it sure doesn't seem very crowded LOL. I will go out for a couple of hours, fish deep, shallow, in between, whatever and come away with maybe 5-6 fish. The cover that I have put out is moderately effective, but not great. Maybe that is normal for this time of year down in South Alabama. My theory is that the depleted BG population simply has the fish very spread out. Thoughts?

Along the same lines as the last question...can I expect the number of bites to increase or decrease (or stay the same?) when the 8000 BG are introduced? As you can probably tell, I'm trying to avoid having to make up the discrepancy in the bass harvest with an electro-harvest.

Thank you and looking forward to some good input and discussion!

I wish you hadn't of stocked the fish. I'd recommend killing the pond and starting over. A couple of reasons. The bass that are in there have been stunted for a long time, and a LOT of them won't;t grow to anywhere near their potential due to their age. Why throw $$ away feeding them? Then there's the genetic base. They are used to not growing due to the limited food supply, not having enough cover; possibly being marathon runners or both. LOTS of things have changed since 1985, and there are strains of bass that grow fast now. (Titan Bass, F1's, etc.)

I would NOT stock any bluegill until you got the bass out of there that you have to get out. Why feed bass that you are going to be removing? You could stock Coppernose Bluegill down there. I'd stock about 25% Redear Sunfish (shellcrackers) if you see any signs of snails in the pond. Remember, a bass will eat a bluegill that is up to 1/3 (or so) it's length. So to prevent the existing bass to eat a lot of the BG or CNBG, you have to stock advanced sizes. We have grown bass from 2 1/2"-3" in early May to 12"-14" by late October and they weigh between 1.5-3 pounds each. That is with stocking FHM and GSH in the Fall, with 2,500 BG and 500 RES that are 1"-2.5" long per acre, then the fingerling bass the following May. Feeding is very helpful too. You might want to look at Purina MVP or Endurance Fish Food. Higher protein/fat levels.

You really should get the drainage pipe fixed. Depending on the spillway, its a recipe for potential disaster. What would happen if you had all the fish stocked, then a big enough rain came and washed away the spillway and drained the pond?

Also, I would hold off on adding any fertilizer until you get the alkalinity of the water up where it is supposed to be at. Without the correct alkalinity, you could have plenty of nutrients in the pond to grow phytoplankton, but the low alkalinity is limiting their growth. Get that correct, and with extra fertilizer it might be a green soup mess. To verify whether you have enough nutrients in there, I'd suggest getting the water tested for Nitrogen and phosphorous. You want the numbers to be within this range. TP = Total Phosphorous 0.01 - 0.075 mg/l TKN = Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen 2-6 mg/l.

If it's higher than that, do NOT add any more fertilizer until the alkalinity is where it's supposed to be for a few months. I like to see alkalinity no lower than 40 ppm. Many places say 20 ppm but that really doesn't leave you much (if any) of a buffer if it drops any lower. Our Alkalinity here in Northern Indiana is in the 150ish range........ You want the phytoplanktom bloom to give you between 18"-36" reading on a Secchi Disc.

Pelicans too.