We have a 12 acre lake that was built in 1991. There are 3 springs but otherwise trees and vegetation around the lake and no runoff. . We just had the lake shocked to see what was in it and they said it was overstocked with crappie and bass and had very few bream but the current wouldn't carry to shock many of them up long at all. He said we need 60 tons of lime w/o testing the lake. I am going to put that out in the morning. Will this help clear the lake at all? The bass are really white and no color. The lake does clear up in the cooler months. Also if it is overstocked the fish do not bite well at all. I have had plenty of people fish for hours and wonder if fish are in there.

Thanks for the help

Mike

" I am going to put that out in the morning"

You must have a strong back!

As part of the survey what recommendations did they make?

i would get your water tested

Apply 60 tons of lime
Start fertilizing in Spring
12000 Threadfin Shad
12000 CNBG

On my way to put out lime by myself!! Trachoe, Pontoon, and pump are waiting!!

Funny Gallop, I was thinking the same thing. It took me two days to put out 18 tons but I didn't have heavy equipment.

The LMB should bite just about anything if they're out of food; the definition of overpopulated. I've only caught crappie in the winter so I don't know about those guys. I'm sure your shocker guy knows his stuff but what did he base his overpopulation estimates on? Were the LMB skinny or just plentiful? What was the distribution of size? Could the poor catch numbers be the fishermen's fault? Might try Rotenone to thin out the two. The lake might be big enough that you could get away with nuking a portion. Check with someone else first but I think the big ones will be the first to go with Rotenone and thus you could use a dose that isn't lethal to everyone. Those are the ones you want to get rid of; the ones that are too big to be predated and are also responsible for the bulk of the spawn. I've seen peoplpe use big tarps to isolate the poison. If you did this, you could hit the cooler water spots during the summer months where crappie are said to inhabit.

What sort of forage is available to the crappie? I'm thinking the crappie would need to be kept in check (harvest the biggens) and you need to make sure the bream aren't out of food. It might take a large hit to the crappie population and an immediate dose of bream to 'turn the tables'.

Assuming enough bream food is available, another forage species for the bass would help the juvenile bream survive to adulthood. Golden shiners are my favorite since they grow big and basically never outgrow predation. Grass shrimp and crawfish are also great forage for everyone if you have the habitat to support them.

Took 5 hours to put out about 15 tons of lime. Gonna be a job this week!!

I really don't think he got a good sample of my lake. He was only able to net about 10 fish. I used SE pond management which is a reputable company but I think when he saw 100's of crappie I feel like he figures it is overpopulated. There is no forage so I put out about 20 trees and I am working on PVC structures. As far as fishing goes I have caught fish and tournament fished my whole life but it this lake has always been tough to catch numbers.

3 more days and you'll have it licked!

I'm not sure what the crappie prefer to spawn on but if your have a sand/mud bottom, the bream will appreciate some pea gravel. In a pond I've been working on, there were two big piles of pea sized lime from the pumping process. They stood about 2 feet tall from the bottom immediately after pumping lime. I went back a few months later and they looked like the moon. The fish had spread them out and blown craters into every square inch of available gravel. I believe the egg survivability is better on gravel due to better oxygenation and that'd be good for your supposed dwindling bream population.

Crappie are big minnow feeders so they're probably really hard on the YOY bream, especially if there's nothing else to eat. Another reason to add golden shiners.

Landshark, fertilizing may not help and even create new issues if the water is "muddy". There will be no sunlight penetration to create a healthy bloom, but your are likely to grow huge amounts of FA.

Considering your lake is spring fed, yet muddy, my first thought is lots of bullhead catfish or common carp are stirring up sediments. Have you ever done a "jar test" (leaving a glass jar of lake water undisturbed for 5 days) to see if the water clears???

Also, if muddy, and no planktonic algae, what are TFS going to eat???