Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations What's wrong with this picture?

Or should I say stocking plan.

.8 ac pond. Winterkilled during the winter of 2008. Unsure what fish survived, but was told all large fish died. Primiarly it was a LMB/BG pond. Pond depth averages 5' with the deepest part at 12'. Aerated and hand fed, now it has a TH Feeder on it.

Pond is in Northern Illinois, everything was stocked at once.

Pond goals = fast paced fishery for kids with an occasional large fish caught.

Stocked May of 2009 with:

100 5"-8" LMB
200 3"-5" BG
20 6"-8" WE
100 5"-7" YP
50 8"-12" CC
100# FHM

I have spent a total of 4 hrs. fishing the pond in the past 2 weeks. All I've caught are BG and Goldfish. The BG are mostly 3" long, and showing signs of slow growth. (eyes look slightly large on some of the fish). I have caught four 6" BG that are in great shape. I haven't seen a LMB, nor any CC. I have removed 207 Goldfish between 10" and 3", 3 distinct size classes 3", 6" and 10"), with the majority of them 9"-10".

I'm weighing the options of either an electroshock survey or dropping in a Fyke Net to get a better sample of fish species.

1) What would be a better sampling method?

From the BG population, and angling survey, I think there aren't enough LMB in the pond due to fishing them out or other reasons. Thoughts?

Would removing as many carp (oops I mean goldfish) as possible still require stocking a few NP or Tiger Muskies, or would a good LMB population of sufficient size (individual fish) take care of them? I'm afraid that the 9"-10" fish will spawn next year (if not this year) and the population will explode.

I doubt that the bass or CC have been fished out. I expect they have become hook shy. Try a 4 inch BG or goldfish. It might make some sense to toss out some floats with baited hooks for some night time jug fishing.

A fyke net ought to help you eliminate some goldfish while doing some sampling.

Dave, I was thinking of setting out a trot line but there are a considerable number of snapper turtles in the pond. One that I saw has a head as wide as my hand. I know for sure because it surfaced right under the pier that I was standing on. We saw each other, probably said the same thing and it ducked outta sight.

scott budget needs to be considered as well, shocking can be quite pricey up that way Im told. Money probably better put into bass. They will hammer those godlfish quite well. I think you are in this case fine going forward with your plans. GL

If you stock one over the other, I would pick the TM. I'd say no more than 2. They'll grow fast and hopefully in a couple years be big enough to help you clean out the rest of those goldfish. A fyke net sure would help too...

Wow. That is where starting over seems like it is probably the best alternative. That stocking plan is something my mother would have referred to as "worse than a dog's breakfast."

The first thing that scares me is the 50 channel cats that were put in. I've got to believe that they have thrived, grown, and are now in at least the 18-24 inch range. A few have probably died each year, but I would guess that at least half of them are fat and happy -- probably way too fat and happy. I would guess the average weight to be at least 5 lbs. each. With 125 lbs. of estimated hungry biomass they are probably very significant in the pond's carrying capacity.

I would have to think that the fatheads were consumed with a few weeks of the initial stocking. I'm sure they are gone.

It sounds like nothing is dominant. Either the LMB/BG should have become dominant, or the walleye/perch should have become dominant. I'm not sure how well those four can survive together in a small pond. I doubt this pond is deep enough to support a reproducing population of walleye. I would guess that the perch will die out, or have already died out. The bass/bluegill should have become dominant by now.

The goldfish! At 9-10 inches, it is going to be difficult for anything to dominate them. Musky or northern pike may help, but I fear that the goldfish will grow as fast or faster than the northerns or muskies, and the pike will only be able to control some of the offspring. If your are thinking about stocking them, I'd definitely go with hybrid musky so that they too, don't become a problem. In a pond this size, and in a pond with this many issues, I'd probably triple Travis's recommendation. The muskies can eventually be caught when the rest of the population is controlled.

The fike nets may take enough out to get the pond back into some kind of reasonably manageable balance, and it is probably worth a try. The only other solutions I envision would be draining, liming, rotenoning -- or possibly a half-stick "du Pont spinner."

It sounds like you have some challenging work ahead of you, whether you try to correct the present mess, or you start over with a whole new plan. It also sounds like this could be a two or three article series for Pond Boss.

Ken

ken, TM, NP and LMB all have been suggested. Starting over is out of the question, but I will approach the self appointed "caretaker" with it again after seeing the stocking report. The pond sits between 5 lots, 4 of them have houses. One person has taken it upon himself to stock, purchase an aeration system, and generally steward the pond. I cannot find out how old it is, but from talking to another neighbor, it was a Boy Scout property that was sold and subdivided. The pond was there before the houses, no telling how old it is.

My fear about the NP is that they won't be the same sex, and another can of worms is opened. The steward was worried that the TM would eat the LMB too.

I will be talking with him next week to try and formulate a plan on what to do. There was a FA problem in the pond last year, and he took care of the problem by CuSo4 applications. I stocked 34# of Blue Tilapia to get away from the chemicals.

From my limited time spent at the pond, it's a toss up between BG and Goldfish as to the dominamt fish. No signs of the CC or LMB (yet). The BG are very numerous, but the majority of them look like last years YOY. The Sago in the pond makes fishing for LMB with anything other than a weedless lure almost impossible.

I'll keep everybody updated.

[/quote]...The fike nets may take enough out to get the pond back into some kind of reasonably manageable balance, and it is probably worth a try...[/quote]

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