Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Newb with some questions

Hey guys, new poster here. I spend quite a bit of time reading the stuff on here but I wanted to get some case-specific questions. I haven't moved onto the property yet so I can't give specifics on fish populations but I have a few buddies who have fished the pond for a few years and I have a decent idea of the populations. Rundown on the pond:

3/4 acre with LB, BG, and Grass Carp in it. I wouldn't be surprised if a few "crap fish" were in it also but I don't think it is anything overwhelming. Has a small sandy beach area on one side and a couple downed trees on the other. The LB seem to have decent size and numbers but the BG seem to be a little rare, with a few decent sized ones in there.

I would prefer the "natural" food way in the pond. Meaning I don't want to buy food because I am in college and won't be there for the whole year to keep the feeding consistent. I have some pretty good resources nearby to build a good forage base to continue the growth of a good bass population. I have a run of streams where I go past 4-5 in a 3 miles stretch and they are loaded with minnows. I was planning on trapping these streams and hand-sorting species that I don't want (time is something I have plenty of this summer). What species should I be removing? I have trapped these streams before to catch bait and I know that Shiners, Creek Chubs, Stonerollers, and another brightly colored minnow I cannot identify for certain (I believe it is the Pearl Dace) are the main species. Will any of these winter in a small pond? Would it be a good idea to invest in some Golden Shiners or FHM?
Also, has anyone tried using Florida or Florida Hybrids this far north? I have heard cases where people said they did not handl the winters especially well. Would it be worth stocking a few larger ones and removing some of the bass already in the pond in an effort to raise the genetics? I think I better quit here before this post gets way too long.

Well, first off welcome to the forum...

If you don't subscribe to the magazine it would be well worth the investment. Along with several of the books offered as well.

Bill Cody and I are working on a series of articles that should be coming out later in the year on just the subject your speaking of. How to collect wild forage fish, properly introduce them into your pond and what species to consider for your pond.

Just about any species you catch in a stream will survive in a pond. They may not reproduce, but the bass will certainly eat them. You have to be careful when collecting from the wild about disease and parasite introduction and introducing unwanted species... To the average collector, small carp can look much like more desirable pond species. Invest in a good field guide, like Peterson's to help you firmly ID your catch. Most species of "shiner" will survive in a pond, however, few naturally reproduce in a small pond. Creek chubs, stone rollers and pearl dace are much the same way.

From the sounds of it, your pond is a little bass heavy and forage fish short. I would start removing some of the bass. Measure them and weigh them, to get their relative weights. Look up relative weights on this forum for information on how to see the health of your bass. You probably want to remove 20 or so 10"-12" bass, but until you get some relative weights, it's hard to get an exact number.

As you get close to removing good numbers of bass, then you can look more closely at bumping up bluegill numbers and considering adding more forage fish.

As far as FL genetics, I think you are a hair bit too far north for them to worth the effort. Stick with just removing some of the bass in your pond for now. That alone will make a huge difference IMO.

Thanks CJ,
I have read a little bit about some of the natural feeding advice you gave a few other posters on the site so I was hoping you would have some of the answers to my questions. Where can I subscribe to the mag? I was looking at the site and the only link I saw was a gift subscription and I don't think it counts as a gift if I give it to myself.

It's easy to subscribe. You can either call them at 800-687-6075 or simply click HERE.

A lot of us pond meisters don't feed their fish (well other than providing a forage base) so no worries there.

Oh and I almost forgot, welcome to Pond Boss, thanks for joining the forums and posting. Post photos when you can, we like photos.

For future reference, how do you post pictures here? Do you need to put them in a site and link them or can you insert them right into messages?

Put them on a site and link them.

"...the only link I saw was a gift subscription and I don't think it counts as a gift if I give it to myself."

Ahh Grasshopper...so young with so much to learn...

Ignorance is bliss?
I noticed when I went back and clicked on the "forbidden gift link" that it brought me to the exact page I wanted to find. Thanks for all your help guys. We should be moving into the home with this pond before too long here and I'll make sure and get some pics up when I do.

You can't rush the learned art of self-rationalization. It will come to you.

I'll have you know I have very good reasons for my self-rationalization.

Hey don't knock self rationalization. Using this technique I have justified the purchases of a multiple surfboards, a muscle car, a hot rod, and then I stepped up to the big league - 30 acres with a pond. I'm getting much better at it.

Just wait until the land next to you comes up for sale. All character goes down the drain.

Update on the situation, it is much worse than I thought. We still have to sell our house before we can move into the house with the pond, but the current landowner has given me free reign of the pond. I went out with a friend yesterday and the "good bass population" I had heard about was vey inaccurate. There were literally hundreds of 6-8 inch bass in the pond, very few bluegill, and a few monster carp, as well as a few of common carp (one I saw had to be close to 30 pounds!). The BG were very large but very sparce. Would it be a waste to even consider stocking forage fish with the hundreds of small bass in the pond (i.e. should I remove a large quantity before beginning the stocking?) I saw a small number of bass in the 16-18 inch range that I assume are now feeding mainly on the smaller bass. Would this assumption be accurate? Any advice on where to go from here would be appreciated.

Howdy lmoore-

Your time will likely be best spent removing as many small bass as possible this summer-basically every one you catch. Any forage below 6-8" BG size will be consumed by the smaller bass-basically a waste of time.

However, your pond is of a size that you can make a real impact in one summer.

I would rec:

1] Manage bass population extremely aggressively as above. Take out all smaller bass and all skinny larger ones.

2] Stock some large BG to get some really good spawns in this summer. Either buy or catch some 6-9" gills to get more breeders in the pond-if you do this soon, they should get in a spawn or two this summer.

3] Consider feeding this summer. If you have the funds, and you don't live too far away, a feeder will really jump start your bluegills, and therefore your whole forage base....it's really amazing what a difference it makes in BG growth and spawing. If you can't do it year round, that's ok.

Hope this helps.....you're dealing with a common problem, but it's very correctable, and quite quickly, on a smaller body of water.