I have a 2.5 acre pond and there are a lot of 11" bass, but nothing larger than that. The recommendation was for me to remove as many of the small bass as possible and then restock after that. I'm having trouble catching many of the bass, even with live bait. Any other thoughts on how to remove? Would a gill net work? I'm not too concerned whether the net would kill fish, as one other option presented to me was to just start over entirely. If a gill net would work, what size would be good for small bass?

Thanks

Foo, you're looking at some major efforts to get a course correction on your pond. You could potentially need to remove a thousand LMB or so to have a real impact as well facilitating other necessary avenues.

Massive fishing derbies and electroshocking would be good efforts.

Are you having trouble catching them historically, or just so far this year?

If just this year, then they should be much easier to catch very soon as your water warms.

In my experience, a pond full of stunted bass is the easiest place to catch fish. I like Sunil's idea for a fishing derby. If you have some buddies that like to fish, they could probably come out for several weekends. Likewise, call some of your local Boy Scout troops and see if you can find one with leaders/parents that are fisherman and they can use your pond to teach a large group of energetic boys to fish.

If none of that works, then hopefully you get some expert advice on more extreme measures.

Good luck on getting your pond back to a healthy balance!

My experience and some info from a few gill net studies indicates gill nets are a poor way to sample or collect largemouth bass from ponds. Pond size probably does not play a big role in the answer.

The Pond Boss editor is always looking for ideas for magazine articles. Here is my suggestion for the editor - Post the question to magazine fishery professors Dr. Wes Neal and Mark Cornwell for creating an article of the best method to remove small 8"-13" LMB from ponds. Will a gill net work to remove LMB from ponds?

Here is a little info that I found on the web:
Gill Net Selectivity in Upper Ohio River Area
Note no LMB were captured in the gill net study, a few Smallies yes, LMB none. I lived in Pittsburgh and know LMB live in those rivers.
https://workforce.calu.edu/argent/Research/MonRiverFish/gillnetargentkimmel.pdf
Longnose gar, Mooneye, Skipjack herring, Gizzard shad, Common carp, River carpsucker, Quillback, Highfin carpsucker, White sucker, Smallmouth buffalo, Bigmouth buffalo, 5 species of redhorse, Channel catfish, Flathead catfish, Northern pike, Tiger muskellunge, White bass, Hybrid striped bass, Rock bass, Smallmouth bass, Spotted bass, Black crappie, Sauger, Walleye,
Freshwater drum

Oklahoma Gill Net Info Selectivity
http://dasnr59.dasnr.okstate.edu/shouplab/Research/Gillnet-sampling.php

Gill Net use in Clear Lake IA. Note no LMB were collected
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3204&context=pias

If I had to use a gill net to collect overabundant small bass from a pond I would entice bass into an corner of a pond with pellets or feedings of live minnows. While fish were chasing minnows into the shallows pull a gill net in behind the bass and entrap them in the corner. To get out the bass would have to swim through the monofilament gill net.

If the LMB are feed trained using a seine. Slow work but can be done. Feed in front of the net for a couple of weeks. Then loosen the net - feed and while the fish are eating pull the net in.

Sometimes starting over isn't so bad. I'm not sure where you are located or how fast your pond refills. If up north and plenty of water, is there any chance you could siphon the pond down low in winter, let a winter kill mostly resolve the issue, and then use some rotenone to finish them off or even seine it while the water is very low? That lowered water level might also give you the opportunity to add structure, contours, and anything else you'd like. For restocking, you could go heavy on the forage first so the fish you stock grow fast.

I bought the property last May, and they seemed a bit easier to catch then, so maybe it is the water temperature. It is currently around 62 degrees, so maybe things will pick up. I'll also try inviting people over as some have suggested, and also explore some form of netting. Thanks for all the help!

Where is Pelzer?

I don't know if it is a newer feature (or if I just missed it for several years), but the location information in everyone's thumbnail is a hot link to google maps.

Just click on "Pelzer" in Foozle's left sidebar and it takes you straight to his location in South Carolina.

FishinRod's excellent hint of "Just click on "Pelzer" in Foozle's left sidebar and it takes you straight to his location in South Carolina." . This an excellent member locator tool. Thanks for pointing it out. This moderator did not even know that one existed.