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Joined: Oct 2019
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When I started last summer I had 3 acres of pencil skinny LMB and a few giant BG, now I have taken out 107 11-14” bass and I still have quite a few small bass to go probably need 50-75 more out.
The pond now feels empty. I have added YP and they are doing well but are all 8+ inches and too big for most of my bass to eat. I even caught a 21” bass tonight the was so skinny he did not even put up a fight. I still threw him back as I have very few bigger fish in this pond. There seems to be nothing to eat in this pond for the 14”+ fish. What should I do next? I’m thinking about stocking adult 5-7” BG as many as I can get my hands on, thinking 1000-2000. Only BG in there now are 10”+ or last falls hatch.
What else can I do to create a food chain.

Also my water is super clear year round. Last summer I fertilized and got a good bloom as a base for the food chain and will be fertilizing again as the water warms. Anything I can do to help oct-April?


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You are on the right track. You have last falls hatch and that's a sign that the summer of culling is helping. I wouldn't add any BG. I might remove some of the large males to make some room for the small fry. Your BG will spawning soon and producing lots of fry and thanks to the cull, many more will be growing up.

Don't know what the RWs of the harvest LMB were, but even at 85 you have removed 30 lbs/acre. I think you are going to see positive results from your efforts but you are going to have keep up with the LMB. Are there many in the 6" to 11" range?


It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so - Will Rogers


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Not many bass under 11”. I think they were all eaten by the crowd. Have seen bass fry this spring from last falls spawn which was after the biggest part of the cull. 82 LMB out by mid September last year.

Should I not even add some mid size BG just as forage until the next crop is ready? I can get them for free. I have a friend with a major crowd of them in his pond. 20 min with a throw net could get me couple hundred 3-6 inches.


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I do think it is good to have the BG spread across several sizes ... but more importantly age classes ... but care should be taken to ensure that the effort increases the production of BG YOY.

Particularly, you don't want to take away any space or resources that the BOW currently has to support BG YOY. For each pound stocked, I would want to remove maybe 2lbs of the big BG. I would do both as early in the season as you can. Is there good cover to protect BG fry?

Last edited by jpsdad; 04/20/20 06:28 AM.

It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so - Will Rogers


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I’m not sure about removing big BG there are not that many. Only Catch 2 in an afternoon with 2 guys using worms. I did catch a few on a rattle trap the other day. Maybe I just need bigger bait.
Yes on cover. I have a dozen brush piles and the weeds will be thick here in a month. I probably need a dozen more brush piles though. (Easy work I own a Tree Service and large equipment). Maybe I should just add shiners once the weed get thick and hope the reproduce to get my fish through this year and try to raise a monster crop of BG for next.


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I just doubled the brush cover in the pond tonight. Thick brush with good gaps holes and spacing for the fry. The grass is growing quickly too. I will just add some shiners and let my BG spawn and fill the pond.


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Those larger bass were preying on the stunted bass and now they don't have as much to eat. Might as well remove them as they won't ever recover.

You may be able to do supplemental stocking of BG too big to be eaten but that's beyond my experience. Mostly you're just gonna have to wait for things to swing around. It took years for that pond to get into that state and it will take a few years to fix it up the way you want it. I started out where you were and the culling has definitely paid off. Click below for some proof smile

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Also for cover and structure you need A LOT. The usual rule of thumb is 20% of surface area so for 3 acres that's over half an acre!

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Nice work with your pond!! I’m a data and records guy but you are next level!!
I will continue to add more and more structure I have huge brush piles now some 60x40 feet in size but I’m well short of half an acre. I doo have great grass cover late April-September. But winter cover needs improvement. What can I do to make the large open center of my pond more useful? Probably 1.5 acres of water that the fish rarely use. 13-17’ deep. One giant brush pile the even comes up out of the water like an island?


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