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#509366 07/25/19 09:40 AM
Joined: Jul 2019
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Greetings from Michigan, USA

We have a 1/3 acre pond. The pond has LMB, Hybrid BG, and 4-5 Catfish. In previous years, by June the LMB are trolling the shoreline and sometimes follow me around the pond if I have a bucket in hand (I sometimes would hand toss crayfish to them). Fishing them was as easy as it gets....toss in a line and fish on in a matter of seconds, maybe a few minutes. My little nephews love coming over because fishing at our pond is so easy. They can catch fish all day until the bait is gone.

This year has been VERY different and bizarre to me. I have not seen a single LMB around the bank area or when I'm walking around. I have only seen a few minnow sized LMB. I caught one LMB a week ago, and that was hard fishing compared to what we are used to in this pond. I have not seen or caught a single HBG. The catfish are there because I've seen them surface, but they've always been a challenge to catch, but at least they are there. I sometimes see what I think is a LMB (or HBG) going for insects on the surface, although that is rare this year. We had a very wet and sporadically cold spring, but I'm past the belief that that was the root of the problem. One difference or change compared to previous years is that I installed an aerator in July of last year (2018), but that didn't change their behavior after last year before winter and the pond iced over. The aerator we keep running 24/7 and it ran over the winter.

Any ideas of the problem, or if there is a problem at all? Are the fish dead and if so, why or how?? If many of them died over winter, wouldn't I have found them floating after the ice melt? Are they fine and hanging out at deeper depths now that aeration is present down there? I'm baffled.

Last edited by Busarider29; 07/25/19 09:44 AM.
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How deep is the pond and how deep did you place your aerator? I doubt this is your issue but with just hbg for forage your bass may stunt in a few years.

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Two suspects come to mind...

Do you have otters in the area? They can strip a pond pretty quick from what I've read.

And, is it common practice that far north to run bottom aerators 24/7 in the wintertime? The pond may have super-chilled? SWMO hit on it with his question about diffuser depth. I think ice-off aeration is typically done in the shallows so the deeper water does not get so cold. I don't know for sure, however.

I hope it's neither and your fish have just changed habits. Try changing your fishing technique...live bait fish (or crawdad) under a bobber, try different depths.


Fish on!,
Noel
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I have three diffusers coming off the aerator that I placed evenly spaced apart across the length/width of the pond. So two diffusers at either end (pond is somewhat oval shaped) and one diffuser in the middle. The two at either end are at ~7-8 feet in depth. The one in the middle, deepest, is at ~15-18 ft. We went to a pond "class" a few years ago after we bought the house, and from what I learned there, aeration is key to a healthy pond and they never said anything about not running it in winter. Also, I posed that same question to the pond "experts" where I ordered the aerator last year and they said that winter and high summer are the most important times of the year to have aeration. I told him I run it 24/7 and he had no concerns about that. So, my take from all of that is it's fine running in winter (?).

We have a creek that runs around and through our property. I have never seen an otter around or near the pond. But....its still possible I suppose. If so, the otter just found the pond because we didn't have this issue in previous 3 years nor did the previous owner from what I know.

Last edited by Busarider29; 07/25/19 10:45 AM.
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Yeah been here done this.

1. I did have an otter and thank goodness it left us!! LMAO!! Walk around your pond if it's an otter there will be bones on your shoreline for sure! I had a big ole male and thank goodness we noticed it when we did or my 1 acre pond would have been toast.

2. I'm in Arkansas and don't run my air much past October until the following mid March or so. No need remember cold water is 100 percent oxygenized anyway so unless you have long freeze over you don't really need to run it. When I say cold I would say anything under 55. Mods please correct if I am wrong on that one.

3. I have had the same exact scenario you speak about above happen to me a couple of times. This year for example. I know I have some nice LMB several to be exact. And I have hardly caught any this year. I to was wondering are all my LMB dead what happen? Where did they go? Then just the other Saturday early in the morning I had 3 big boys hit on a top water Buzz bait. They can get real picky and content in a pond sometimes even harder to catch then a actual lake IMO. Get out there on a nice cloudy day and fish hard for them. Like QA said try some live bait big shiners about 2 feet below a bobber and hang on!! LOL it will work.

4. Dead of summer I almost never have any luck with my bass it's just to warm.


The only difference between a rut and a Grave is the depth. So get up get out of that rut and get moving!! Time to work!!

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