Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - I finally got my small pond! It's just kinda big!!

We close in March but it's a done deal. I'm actually just waiting to close on my *house* first since this is going to be owner financed. I've posted some pictures and stuff before. In my profile is a link to all my current pictures I took today.

It DEFINITELY has a population of hungry bass. Lots of em jumpin around today. Almost caught one (had it right next to the bank) that was definitely north of 2Lbs maybe up to 3.

Questions (because of course I have questions).

Is there a "poor mans" way of checking the fish population aside from calling a pond specialist to come in with an electrofishing boat? Or are yall gonna just tell me to go drop some more lines?

I'm contemplating throwing in (40 lbs) of Shiners and Gambusia Minnows next month to feed these guys, and maybe they'll start a breeding population. (fatheads are not available commercially, only from bait shops). Thoughts on that?

In April I'll start building some fish cities and then get some more forage to populate em. Then I'll put some feeders around the cities. Tons of natural places for forage to hide for now.

What types of structure are best for Shiners and Gams? Do they need flat surfaces like FHM do?

Ok so forage I want to add more of:
Shiners and Gams, since that's the ONLY supply I can find right now.

Bluegill, Crawfish (what type of craw would you go for?)
Tilapia
Sterile grass carp.



Am I missing anything obvious to help this pond get some big bass? Can someone link me a test kit so I can measure DO and see if I need an aerator (I dont think so, but a fountain could be cute anyway)

FishingRod:

The seasonal considerations are the same as when you fertilize the lawns. If the water temp is too cool to grow planktonic algae, then there is no need to fertilize. In other words, don't fertilize if the plants aren't growing because the phytoplankton won't be growing that fast either. If you DO fertilize then, and the water warms up, you could have too dense of a bloom and create a fish kill. That is all dependent on the alkalinity of the water too.

No, I don't believe there is any benefit to fertilizing the pond if the clarity is less than 36" due to suspended sediment from bottom feeders. The bloom won't receive enough sunlight to really grow - diminished returns for the $$ spent.

CityDad, there are no hard and fast rules for ponds, i.e. "if the clarity is 35" don't fertilize", but without checking the alkalinity first and making sure it is high enough that it allows the fertilizer to be used, it's a waste of $$. Sort of like fertilizing your crops without getting a soil test done. You can pour a ton of it on them, but if the pH isn't right the crops cannot utilize the nutrients.

Yall its RAINING.

Im gonna hold off celebrations until it keeps raining, but the last 4 days we had 5-6 inches.

On Friday you could WALK to my island... now there's a layer of water in the canal again

HUZZAH!

Citydad, get to know the pond before you start trying to improve it.

Catch fish, analyze and measure the fish for size and body condition. Record everything. Give it some time while learning what it has and has not. Somewhere along the trip, figure out what needs to be done to achieve an ever elusive balance of predator and prey.

When you finally get it in balance, congratulate yourself. That generally ends pretty quickly.

Small LMB like that taste very good, in my opinion, at least from my water. I don't know if the "swamp" like water will make them taste different, but I would give it a try. I ate lots of 10" bass this summer. You'd think they are too small but you can get some decent fillets off of them.

The bass that you put back in should have been removed. Too skinny. The length and weight tells me that there aren't enough fish in the pond of the correct size for it to eat to grow any larger, or heavier.

The tall grassy things should be removed too - those are cattails and will get so thick you can't walk to the water.

You could always fish for gators! ROFL

Just keep harvesting the bass. That will allow the remaining bass to grow bigger. The problem with adding more fish to the pond to feed the smaller bass is that you will soon run out of carrying capacity for the pond, and when that happens Mother Nature makes room for more fish by killing 90% or more of the fish in the pond.

So, keep harvesting the small under performing bass.

Of course I'll still respect you in the morning.

I'm from the government, and I'm here to help you.

Addicted? Hey, I can stop any time I want!

To grow big bass, get rid of your bluegill.

That's my limit too!

However, it seems to be based on some silly edict from my wife.

Maybe a mini PondBoss get together with day trips into the kissimee chain. If youre camping at my property its like 45min-1hr to Camp Mack

Sounds like the CityDad bass fishing adventure is about to get fired up again.

Good luck!

City of course your crazy….. just like the rest of us! Lol

Got some time with my son in the canoe! I caught 3 dinks while he mostly giggled. Hes getting better at casting but still gets bored and would rather play in the water with the minnow net. Its adorable I love it.

Seeing a bunch of what I think are 2-4" bass but wasn't able to net any
Bunch of other fry/minnows but Westley had a monopoly on the minnow net...

Still think the Tilapia hoard the good bedding spots away from the bass. When i get the feeders re-set hopefully they will be drawn to them and I can cast ne tthe big ones out

Sounds like time for a Mad Max solution!

Pig manure makes methane to drive your natural gas generator to produce AC power for your aerator.

You could nickname your pond Thunderdome. "Two fish enter, one fish leaves."

Ive got a bunch of photos and stuff on my IG. polkpasturedpork

We got stupidly lucky to be honest.
No animals lost, just needed to re capture the pigs. Chickens were fine.

Crazy amounts of water, having all my neighbors watershed coming into my property is what filled my pond up 4', plus the river overflow.

It could have been worse. Originally we were supposed ot have the southern bands and not much else, then a direct hit, eventually we only got the NORTHERN bands of rain and wind with no thunder.

MASSIVE trees down everywhere. Its shocking how many HUGE trees in the are afell towards the road and not onto houses.

At one point in the storm I ran up on my neighbors roof to help them remove enough of a small fallen tree to throw a tarp I gave them on it to cover some small holes.

All the biggest trees in my area fell on poles/wires.

I lived on a 3 block area that had power the whole time, rest of the entire city was out for at least half a day.
Internet was out for 2 days.