I have hunted several large ranches in south texas. I am on one now that has a 4-5 acre pond. There has been zero management and zero manipulation of the water or fish. No catfish. I have caught a ten pound bass out of this pond plus many many 4-7 lb bass. I was on a similar type place some years back with the same situation and huge bass.

How does a small pond like these grow this large of bass without stocking bluegill, etc. and without culling etc. ? Just curious

Genetics, low stocking numbers in the beginning and since it is south Texas, a lot of Tilapia are stocked in those ponds for bass to eat. Tilapia do not die out and will live yr round in S Texas. You can not grow large bass without them having food to grow.

there are no tilapia in these tanks. the only food source I know of is perch - I have been there ten years and the owner has never stocked anything into the ponds nor fed them

They're eating something in there.

There was a 9-pound LM bass caught here in NW Arkansas out of a neighbor's unmanaged one-acre pond. Also a 9-pound CC. Nothing super unusual.

not saying it is unusual - just wondering with all the management, stocking, etc. that is done how one just produces bass that big "naturally" - only bait fish I know of in them is perch

Actually, there's another food source in there. Other LMB. The biggest bass will probably be cannibals, hammering other largemouth for dinner.

I'm guessing the ten pounders are pretty scarce.

yeah one ten pounder but lots of 4-7 as mentioned plus a few bigger. Plus they are fat. You are probably right in that they are feeding on some of the smaller bass -

Largemouth bass as a slender bodied fish (fusiform) especially those under 2 lbs are relatively easy to swallow for a predator with adequate mouth size aka gape. Big Catfish love night resting bass as meals.

Some bodies of water achieve 'balances' that produce wild results.

Many more times, we come in and screw things up!!

I suppose so - I have seen it over 30 plus years in ponds - mostly in South Texas. I have noticed it tends to happen in ponds that are not clear like most of them are in central texas. The ones in south texas are usually not clear

In my opinion, its a matter of perspective. The question was how a natural pond can turn out a ten pound bass, without intensive management. Maybe it's a case of goals...mother nature's goals, OR the pond owner's goals? They are seldom the same, but may, for a time, overlap somewhat.

Nature produces a handful of big bass in a pond, as they consume one another. But, is this sustainable over time? Pond owners want big bass, but they also want a near continuous supply of bigger bass....culling, feeding, adding genetics, in order to try and sustain that big bass supply. In addition, oftentimes they want additional species also. That complicates things somewhat, as nature tends to favor one species over another. This gives her an edge, as it's usually easier to let one species dominate rather than encourage equal productivity.

I see a pond that produced a big bass, or even a few big bass, without intervention by human management, as fleeting and temporary. That's not what most pondmeisters desire, or manage for.

Just a few random thoughts.

Hmmm....maybe one person's pond is another's lake.

we have caught most of our large bass out of a 5 acre pond - I will post more pics of bass from the 5 acre pond. the one in this picture is on the same lease/south texas ranch and is around 15 acres when full - very shallow - no matter the size these ponds/lakes have never been managed - I am simply curious how any pond/lake produces bass of this size with just mother nature being involved - not very good pics but these are out of the 5 acre pond/lake - we catch these in multiples

Maybe food for thought...A friend of mine has an unmanaged 1/2 acre in Northern Illinois. He has sent me a picture of a 5 pound LMB and a 16 inch BCP that were caught in his pond but he has never sent me a picture of a nice stringer of fish.

In a nutshell...food. A bass wont grow without eating SOMETHING. Bluegills, or the generic, southern curiosity, perch. Even other bass. They're growing to that size because of forage. And I'm willing to bet that something else population size-wise is out of the range of what might be considered "normal" or "balanced".

All I know is we catch many many large bass out of these ponds/lakes - not just one or two. We do not have stringers because it is all catch and release

I was not trying to argue - just wondering how ponds like this produce bass like this - obviously they have a food source. There are no catfish in these ponds - I know for a fact there has not been any fish added of any kind. No feeding done.

I dont care how it happens I just know we enjoy catching these bass

Your other photos are of good bass, but not great bass. They actually look thin?

Ok you are right - the bass in these ponds suck - sorry I brought it up

I am out

No need to get bent out of shape. Just suggesting that an accurate scale and tape measure often takes the mystery out of what at first, may appear extraordinary.

I'd like to hear more about the ponds.

Obviously, they are generating some nice bass.

What else could the bass be eating? Any bullheads in the ponds? White or Sand Bass?

Waters can naturally produce great fisheries. Completely natural conditions often have the ability to achieve a balance. It happens in remote Canadian lakes continually. It is usually by human intervention that usually upsets the natural balance which is often by improper harvest and greed by anglers. Even the stresses of improper catch & release or too much or too frequent catch and release can create a unintended stress on the fishery balance. These human stressors can cause premature deaths of the delicate natural "balance" of the fish size structure that created the initial BALANCE.

Generally the smaller the water body and less of the proper habitat there is that allowed the BALANCE, the easier it is to upset the natural balance.

Wise fishery management can compensate for unbalanced conditions, improve fish body condition(RW) and produce or adjust for a desired balance.

Tim, do you fish for anything other than bass from these lakes?

I would guess that enough of the correct habitat/structure to support a healthy and self-sustaining forage base plays a large role in a scenario like this.

A gravel pit near me up here only had norther pike in it. Put anything white or silver in that pond and you had a pike every cast. From 3 pound to magic marker size.

New owner of the pond added large mouth bass to the pond. I have never seen bass grow so fast in all my life.

Absolutely awesome! Not sure what you mean about arguing. I didn't take it that way at all. Hope you understand I was just relaying my buddy's experience in a small pond unmanaged in Illinois. He catches nice fat fish but not many. Seems his pond achieved a balance with a few large fish supported by he doesn't know what for forage.

All,
Here's the biggest factor in South Texas. Tim K is correct when he says that area can grow some huge fish.
What happens is those ponds are in an arid, desert-like environment. That 15 acre "pond" may only be that big when a tropical storm or another event brings big rains. Then, over a few years, that 15 acre lake evaporates to 3 acres. Then, it does it again. As those lakes draw down, only the best of the best survive, and those bass can grow huge. Then, here comes another rain, the water expands into "new" habitat and the food chain explodes. Then, the water draws down, fish become more confined and bass growth is excellent. That's a common pattern in that part of the world. I've worked that area since 1983 and have seen it over and over and over.
Another note, there's few watersheds there that HAVEN'T been stocked with Florida genetics.

That is exactly what happens in these ponds I have fished down south over many years. Drought comes and they draw down - then rain comes and they refill. I have seen from 3 acre to 15 acre ponds produce some great bass - and in pretty high numbers too.

South Texas is an amazing place - on the surface looks almost sterile but it is the most fertile place there is - wildlife is abundant

Interesting observation Bob.

My main pond has a limited and marginal watershed. At least limited to the point that already through moderate droughts has had water drawdown of 18" or so below full pool.

Of course, from an aesthetic point, I would rather not see this happen and I have considered it one of the somewhat failings of the original design. Now 18" drawdown is nothing compared to south Texas, and my surface area only drops marginally,and I understand I likely am comparing apples with oranges.

But your explanation gives me pause to think that occasional drawdowns may not be all bad. I have noticed that with the water low my limited vegetative borders become nonexistant and the small fish go from limited cover to no cover around the edge (although I do have lots of artificial cover within the pond). So what I was concerned with may not be all that bad of thing. We get lots of rain here (average 42" per year) so it is never an issue of the pond not refilling. On the contrary it is not unusual to get a foot of that 42" in a couple rains in a 48 hour period...........way too much rain and the reason emergency spillways get used more often than we would like.

Point is, your description makes me think rather than being disappointed when I see my pond drop in a drouht, just look at as an opportunity to manage in such a way to take advantage of it. Make lemonade out of the lemons.

Snrub, the last 2 years have been the worst we've ever had for aquatic weeds, and it just so happens we've also had historic amounts of rain during that same period. Our big pond stayed almost at full pool for those same 2 years.

I certainly don't want another drought, but I sure wouldn't mind a foot or two drop every summer.

".... but I sure wouldn't mind a foot or two drop every summer."


Or a foot or two off your waistline, but who's counting???


edit: had the replace 'the' with 'your' so it stings more......

I'll bet I can trim a foot or two off my waist, easier than you can grow a foot or two taller.

You miss me, don't you?

Drawdowns have been used for years as an intentional method of lake management by Fisheries Scientists especially on large lakes. Forage concentration , weed management , shore/dam construction/maintaince , habitat reintroduction and population adjustment are all valid reasons.

If a person had one of those water control level structures, and was confident the rain being predicted in a few weeks would materialize, a person could drop the water for a few weeks. Not knowing when the next significant rain is coming could be problematic though.

Exactly. I have thought about drawing down my pond to prevent any spring flooding and losing my soon-to-be-stocked fish. But I never know when I will get that water back. We just got out of one of the worst droughts ever recorded in Texas last year and you never know when the next one is going to hit.

the pond I now have at my home has a well on it that I can pump water into. My plan is to let it go down during the summer for a few weeks and then fill it back up with my pump from well -

Be sure to consider the DO effects with low water during summer.

I've spent lots of time in south Texas. It's amazing to me to see the different methods to build ponds in different parts of the nation. Until a few years ago, most south Texas ponds and lakes were built by excavating to hard clay, then building a dam by moving dirt the shortest distance possible. There's almost always a deep borrow pit adjacent to the dam, then water backed up onto natural ground as far back as they can get it, in the brush. Years ago, some of the ranchers or the lessors (hunting leases) would cut the brush in lanes where they knew water would eventually sit...so they could access in a boat. Those are the lakes/ponds which can grow some big bass, fast. While a particular lake might be considered a pool level of 10 acres, there are times it can sit at double that size, or half. Those lakes grow some really good fish...unless the drought lasts more than 4-5 years. Then, the equation changes.

By the way, people in the south, especially Texas, call sunfish "perch", similar to our northern friends calling a bass a "green carp". Colloquial. It's pretty entertaining to figure out the local names for different fish. Chinquapin perch, sacalait, rock bass, goggle-eye, there are many more.

Bob, We in SE La. called sunfish "perch" as well but also called LMB green "trout" and RES "lake runners".