Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations 105 acre pond problem

I am managing a 105 acre pond/lake and cant seem to find a lot of info on how to properly manage fish populations on a pond this size. The average depth is around 7ft with areas getting into the 18ft range at the creeks and some rather large flats. It has an abundance of LMB and both white and black crappie as well as some catfish and a good stock of blue gill and shell crackers. The bass and crappie are way under sized and when you do catch a decent fish they look really poor. the lake is fed with 3 creeks and was built in the 70s as a flood control watershed lake. Where do I start?

A good start is to hire a professional lake management person of company. Have the lake evaluated by an electroshock boat. This survey and time spent with a professional will allow you to set goals. Based on those goals, you can establish a plan.

You have to a good understanding of where the lake is in order to get to where you want to go.

I second the electroshock boat. Sit down and think about the goals for the lake before the boat arrives. Then if the decision is made to remove some fish to meet your goals, that can be accomplished quickly with the electroshock boat. Much more quickly than angling.

I know this doesn't have much to do with managing fish, but you are going to need to develop a budget with the rest of the pond owners. Probably get a feel for what folks here suggest and the cost of it, and compare that/report back to everyone else what it may cost. Your hands could be tied from doing much of anything if nobody wants to chip in.

We have annual dues just for lake maintenance and up keep. Right now I have around 5000 to start with. I have called the mdwfp to come and do a shock survey and lake evaluation. I'm new to all this so I want to make sure I am going through the proper steps. I will update after I get the report, hopefully I can get a few options and some good direction.

That's the state fish & wildlife dept.? You should probably call a pond mgmt professional. I'm sure someone here has a recommendation.

Take a look at the archives. There is a relative weight chart there for LMB and other fish. Compare that chart to what you are catching. Then develop a set of goals for the fishery before shocking the lake. Don't run before you can walk.

For instance, if you want larger LMB, and the lake has a bunch of 12" skinny LMB in it, then when you shock the lake, take 30# per acre out if possible. You'll never be able to do that via angling, and after the shock boat leaves, you'll have to pay to get them back.

Goals, goals, goals first. Doing that will save you $1,000's in the long run.

I can relate, I'm head of the Lake committee for a 100 acre lake in my neighborhood. Having a big pond is really nice, but the problem is it takes a bunch of money to do anything. I only have a 10k budget to work with, I'm asking for 15k this year.

We are actually pretty lucky, our bass are in pretty good shape. We had a shock survey done, a couple of years ago, and it was worth the money. We are going to do it again either this fall, or next spring.

Our goal is to pull out 2000lbs of small bass a year out of the lake, but it just doesn't happen. Only a handful of people keep the small ones. We have problems with non residents fishing, and you find them with 5lb bass in a bucket. That really makes me mad, but really probably doesn't make much difference.

I'm not sure what your situation is, but we are a very family/kid oriented neighborhood (2000 homes). The best thing we did was to build a dock at the park on the lake, and put a fish feeder in. There are now tons of bluegill around the dock, and the kids love fishing there. That has really gotten the HOA to notice people using the lake, and hopefully will get us more money for the lake. Last year they gave us 5k to double the size of the dock, and we didn't even ask for it.

Good luck with the lake and the survey. This forum is great, and has tons of information

If you guys (wowens1604 and ajfagan) can round up a group of interested people, even kids, who like to fish, you can start to right the ship so to speak.

Because of ajfagan's situation with the feeder creeks, you'll never get a really controlled situation, so you have to fall back on a basic plan of culling.

First the state is doing the shock survey and evaluation for free so it cant hurt go ahead and get a good idea where we stand right now. They will not take fish out of the lake, if we decide to do that i will have to get a local professional out to do that. We have very little fishing pressure due to the lake being completly private and only the members and their familys fish (25-30ppl MAX)but of course the ones who do fish always have some kind of gripe, Half of the group wants a good crappie lake and the other half wants bream and bass. Im going to start with the MDWFP report and meet with the board to set goals according to what is feasable. Our spill way always runs year round so i have a lot of things that are tying my hands on what i can and cannot do. Like ESSHUP said taking 30# per acre out by rod and reel will be impossible. And I have already accepted the fact that I cannot create a world class fisherie out of our buget and lake restraints. Im just hoping to make some noticable improvements.

Why will taking out 30lbs/acre be impossible?

I know it sounds like a lot, and equals approx. 3000 lbs. for your total lake.

I wouldn't give up before you even start

Small changes can make huge differences

You have already gotten great advice from some experts and that cost you $0

It sounds like you need to create a "balanced fishery" in order to appease everyone. That is a reasonable goal!

Record the species, weight, and length of the fish you catch during the state survey. Then post the results here and people will help you determine how many of each size class to remove when you hire the pond pro.

You might consider passing out a survey of what all the households expect back from the lake. Nice way to have written verification on that too.

I agree. And, Sunil's pond is a perfect example. Five of us (including Sunil) removed about 150 lbs. of fish from his pond last year. We did it late one afternoon and during the morning the next day. It was all done with hook and line -- and some adult beverages. It achieved Sunil's goal. But, better than that, it was a heck of a lot of fun. It also made for three good sized fish fry parties. See Regional Pond Boss Gathering in Pennsylvania

Twelve of us Pond Boss crazies were recently in North Carolina on a lake that is a little smaller than yours. It is managed by the Pond Boss himself, Mr. Bob Lusk. I can't even begin to imagine how many hundreds of pounds of fish the 12 of us caught in two days. See Greetings from Richmond Mills/ Lusk is out of Texas, but this lake is in southern North Carolina.

Don't give up hope. There are lots of solutions. Ask lots of questions, and we'll try to give you good and achievable ideas. We've got a lot of Pond Boss regulars in your region. If you were to host a fishing party, you might just attract a whole lot of expertise.

Ken

I appreciate all the advice and ideas. i will post up all the results next week and send out the survey that was suggested. Maybe with all the pro's on here we can come up with a managable plan.

We have discussed a Fishing Rodeo Kinda like the party you mentioned. There is another similar lake close by that I attend their yearly fishing rodeo its a lot of fun and helps take out a few hundred pounds of fish. Ill start pushing harder for this next spring.

A.J.

The key is to get a tight group together, AND on the same page.

Intensive culling is the main tool for you, I think.

Pellet feeding will help too, but has a material cost.