Forums36
Topics41,339
Posts562,204
Members18,728
|
Most Online3,612 Jan 10th, 2023
|
|
0 members (),
671
guests, and
49
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 3
|
OP
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 3 |
Hey guys. This is my first post so if I am in the wrong place just point me to the right one.
There is this property with a pond my parents are considering buying. It is approximately 1 acre in size and has a sandy layer below the surface and it's probably in the pond aswell. We fish there regularly already as we have permission from the owner if we mow it and take care of it in general. The pond is old. My neighbor said he fished there back in the 70s as a kid, and still does now. I actually caught the largest bass of my life (I have had close ones Lol) there last year on a purple culprit worm. He was maybe 6 to 7 pounds and measured at 23 inches. There are old 2 older grass carp, one is sickly and sits at the bank and it seems as if he follows you around the pond, and the other is active and won't let you near him. Now my problems began starting this year (I've fished there about 3) I have noticed less fish, we don't over fish it, and fish there a noticeable amount less now than we previously have caught. Also,the pond has sort of always been this way, but the only bluegills you catch are pretty large, and not near as often as we used to. Bass are mostly young, they (along with the bluegills) love a small popper I use on my fly rod, but not near as much as previous years. The problems I believe began with a couple snapping turtles. We caught one but I believe there is another out there, and add that to the winter with no aerator or running water and the fish decline. I want to try to catch the other turtle and then I may stock it. I am thinking getting 6 pounds of flathead minnows, some hybrid bluegills/red-ears, some Largemouth, a few channel cats, and maybe 3 grass carp. Fall is approaching and I have heard that is the time to stock it.
My questions are: Should I buy an aerator before stocking, and where should I place it? How many of each fish should I stock? Are hybrids a waste since they don't reproduce as much? Should a even add Largemouth since there are plenty of young ones and even babies swimming in small schools? Should I add grass carp considering there is little algae? Could I add crappie with an aerator or do they need more oxygen? How in the world can I get that turtle out?
I appreciate any help at all guys. I want this pond to be family friendly, but me and my dad also want to go and catch larger bass with a super poppar or whatever. Basically I want it 65% family oriented and 35% trophy oriented. Thanks guys!
Edit: I forgot to mention a couple things. wWe added about 15 rock bass a year and a half ago, haven't caught a single one or even seen one. There are catfish in the pond but we've only caught 2 total and they were larger. That, big old largemouth, I believe I caught him again, same spot (about 8 feet from the bank),same lure, but he seemed like he wasn't as fat, similar length though, didn't measure him so it could be another. There is a decent population of frogs (hence my mini popper working well). And I don't want to dump too much money in it unless I know for a fact my parents will buy it, but I have no problem adding some minnows and a few fish.
Last edited by Ayendee; 07/22/17 10:07 AM. Reason: Added info
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 2,315
|
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 2,315 |
You have a lot going on in your thinking right now, and that is good. Lots of questions, so I will start helping with some simple ones.
-- Don't add crappie
-- Aeration is always a good thing, if you can make it happen. It will let the pond have a larger carrying capacity, which should be better for having more fish to keep the "family" part better.
--- Don't waste money on FHM = fat head minnows. Your better off feeding pellets.
--- You are probably to predator heavy. Don't throw any CC back. Better to harvest, and restock small new ones, if you want CC. Those big ones are going after the BG. You need all the BG you can to feed the bass. Target the big CC to help boost the BG. CC over 3# become problematic.
--- the fish overall may be getting hookshy. You might harvest some of the underperformers and replace with fresh stock that haven't been yanked by a hook. The numbers may not be lowering, they just might be getting harder to catch.
--- Any fish that are not in the best weight condition, probably should be removed. Go the the Relative Weight Charts in the archives and keep that handy while fishing. If they aren't at 100% or better, harvest them.
That just starts scratching the surface, but may help get you thinking in the right direction
What part of Ohio are you in?
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 3
|
OP
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 3 |
I am in South Eastern Ohio, ctually I live about 15 miles away from where David Allan Coe grew up (if anyones interested in old country music here), and live even closer to his sister and have even done work for her.
Concerning the pellets, while I do know they are better, I kind of want to keep their food sources natural. Could I set a minnow trap in a local creek and throw about 4 to 6 traps worth of sunfish in to help with food? And if I say use some pellets or supplements for a year or so to help them grow a bit would they become reliant or spoiled by it? Could green sunfish crossbreed with the bluegills to make hybrids or does that not happen in the wild? What size/sort of aerator should I consider? Cheaper the better but I don't want junk Lol. Also I did figure they were a bit hookshy but the thing is it got much worse this year than ever before. We fish there maybe once or twice a week for about an hour or two each time and I constantly change it up. Jigs, wacky rigs, husky jerks, artificial frogs, etc and a huge assortment of flies. My family generally uses worms or cut up hot dogs though. And should I add grown fish to the pond or babies? I know a guy about 5 miles away from my house who grows fish on the side and does a great job, I could probably get a discount too. Maybe just a few young adult bass and a larger one or two? Sorry I have a bunch of questions I just enjoy fishing, I'm 19 so I've made the full transition from bluegills with a bobber to bass, heck I get so bored using a bobber I use my flu rod while bluegill fishing, way more fun. Thanks a bunch for the reply too, I am entirely new to actually managing a pond.
Last edited by Ayendee; 07/22/17 11:19 AM.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 2,315
|
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 2,315 |
If you move fish from another water source, you are always at risk of transporting diseases/parasites. there are ways to "clean" them, but to me not worth the work or risk. I would rather buy from a reputable source to avoid all that. You also need to learn exactly the species you are moving. Lots of fish look like another, and get mistakenly transported, only to ruin the original intent of doing good. That's a fair amount of fishing, I would bet half of the lack of bite may be due to the fishing pressure. If you want some hybred BG, then I would get some from a good source. I still feel you need to manage what you got there already. Yes, it takes some time, and learning. Learn what to cull, and when, to achieve your goals. Pellets are a matter of how much you want to do. A little or a lot, depends on budget. The biggest thing with pellets is doing it consistently. same time and place very day. If you can't do that, then it may not be good for you. You could buy a feeder. But they are expensive. But adding 50.00 worth of minnows, ten times, adds up fast to. By the way, it takes 10# of forage to put one pound of weight on a LMB. So how many minnows in a ten pounds? or how much does 10# of minnows cost. That adds up fast. Now multiply that by 30 bass.... you are better off concentrating on building up the BG to feed the bass. Also that big bass you caught, it will eat a 8" BG. If you get to many LMB in a larger size, they put on a hurt to the breeding BG. Before you know it, all the large BG are gone, then there are none left to keep the food chain going. You need to cull LMB, just a matter of what sizes, etc to match your goals. Don't worry about the questions. That's a good thing. I think you are doing great for a younger age. Go to the archives here: http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=22&page=1 and read some. So much info there it is unbelievable. It will answer a lot of questions, and will create more too.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 7,099 Likes: 23
Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
|
Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 7,099 Likes: 23 |
No one addressed adding Grass carp (White Amur), stating "little algae". Grass carp do not eat algae, except unintentionally...ie, eating higher plants that also happen to have algae on them.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 3
|
OP
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 3 |
I was under the impression they ate some of the crap on the surface (don't know the proper name for it) because I have seen them bobbing their heads in the water. They sort of lift out of the water and open their mouth, whatever they are eating/doing, I don't know.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,860 Likes: 940
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
|
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,860 Likes: 940 |
Couple of things.
1) If you haven't been harvesting bass out of there, start now, because I'd bet that it is bass heavy and the bass are stunted. Those "young" bass might not be young, they could be older fish that aren't growing because of not getting enough fish to eat of the correct size.
2) Fish or pellets? It's a matter of economics. 10 pounds of fish eaten per year put one pound of weight on one bass. If they are pellet trained and eat fish pellets, a high quality fish pellet will put one pound on a bass with under 2 pounds of pellets.
Minnows are what, $9-$10/pound and a high quality fish pellet is around $1.25/lb.
What is the fishery goals for the pond?
|
|
|
Moderated by Bill Cody, Bruce Condello, catmandoo, Chris Steelman, Dave Davidson1, esshup, ewest, FireIsHot, Omaha, Sunil, teehjaeh57
|
|