Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - I'm shocked, shocked!

Electro survey today turned up a few things I knew, but also stuff I didn't.

HSB are doing great, some over 5 lb. RES, BG, CNBG also doing well in all sizes, up to past 10 inches. Didn't see any rainbow trout or threadfin shad, but they may be too deep now that water has gotten really warm.

Shocking part was just how destructive the heron has been. Probably ten percent plus of bass were injured by the Beak of Death. I'm gonna have to insist the bird finds another home.

Largemouth were somewhat underweight, especially those less than 15 inches. This surprised me, given how well their forage is doing. But my fertilization efforts, while successful in getting a good bloom, also encouraged weed & algae growth. Apparently it has become so thick in some spots that bass have a hard time reaching the BG, so are undernourished despite strong BG populations. Guess I'll need to treat some spots. Most of my plants are American Pondweed, a plus when not too thick. Maybe I should add grass carp as well.

Considering how hard I worked to get pond weeds in the first place, this is ironic. There's no denying that a pond is balanced only temporarily as it swings between one imbalance and another!

Good report. One many should read and consider as they think about management choices. Change is the only constant in ponds. The more you know and experience the better the chances of getting ahead of possible issues.

This post brings to mind a question I asked here years ago.

I have managed a number of ponds I owned. Gone through the same scenario the OP has. Stock fish. Get weeds - kill weeds - no weeds - cull bass - feed like crazy - and on and on. My ponds have produced some decent bass and good fishing - but the cost and effort is huge.

Now for the confusing news ........ I have hunted in South Texas for 20 years on some great ranches. On most of these ranches there are stock ponds that totally, absolutely NEVER managed. No treatments, no stocking of fish, etc. Just simply left alone for years.

I have caught some of the biggest bass in my life out of these ranch ponds - caught a legit 10 lb bass out of a 1.5 acre stock pond. In said pond we have also caught multiple 6-7 pound bass. Had this happen on several different ranches.

So I guess the moral is this - South Texas not only grows huge deer but also huge bass - makes no sense

What is - " … achieve good relative weight lunker bass" ?

Tell us about the electroshock surveys ? They only sample a very small % and often miss large LMB.

I understand the frustration !!!

I can tell you this for sure! Your HSB if they are 4 pounds up they are for sure competing with your LMB for BG. I have the same problem. I can catch my HSB fairly quick with a 3 inch BG under a bobber so they may start out feed trained but if you do not continue to feed them large amounts of fish food they will eat your BG no doubt about it. I believe this is another reason why all my bass over 20 inches are having RW problems. I am currently keeping any HSB I catch to somewhat help this issue. Thanks for the good info Anthropic I too am getting tired of trying to have that awesome 6./7/8 pound bass and am starting to think now I will be happy with catching ones up to about 4 pounds and having more fun with it!! LOL

anthropic - Reward is a contact herbicide. I prefer it over copper based products.

From Aqua Plant

Reward is a liquid diquat formulation that has been effective on pondweeds and is very effective if mixed with a copper compound. It is a contact herbicide. Contact herbicides act quickly and kill all plants cells that they contact.

Cutrine Plus, K-Tea, Captain, and Clearigate are all chelated or compound copper herbicides and can be used in a mixture with Reward or Aquathol K. Other chelated or compound copper formulations are available but are not linked to this web site.

Aquathol K, and Aquathol Super K are dipotassium salts of endothall and comes in both liquid and granular formulations. These endothall products have been effective on pondweeds and can be mixed with copper compounds for additional effectiveness. Contact herbicides act quickly and kill all plants cells that they contact.