Pond Boss Magazine
https://www.pondboss.com/images/userfiles/image/20130301193901_6_150by50orangewhyshouldsubscribejpeg.jpg
Advertisment
Newest Members
Shotgun01, Dan H, Stipker, LunkerHunt23, Jeanjules
18,451 Registered Users
Forum Statistics
Forums36
Topics40,901
Posts557,097
Members18,452
Most Online3,612
Jan 10th, 2023
Top Posters
esshup 28,415
ewest 21,475
Cecil Baird1 20,043
Bill Cody 15,110
Who's Online Now
11 members (Bing, Fishingadventure, Dylanfrely, Angler8689, Sunil, esshup, jpsdad, azteca, BillyE, H20fwler, FishinRod), 693 guests, and 270 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
#534555 04/29/21 09:10 AM
Joined: Apr 2021
Posts: 3
W
OP Offline
W
Joined: Apr 2021
Posts: 3
I have a 4.5 acre pond in central Florida, retention pond. It drops off steep on all sides down to 26ft. There is not much shallow water. Currently there is very few bass in it. It is overloaded with tilapia. I recently put a lot of structure in it as there was none, clean bottom. I put 500 2" bass in it 2 years ago and I have not seen them in over a year. I have seen a few and caught one nice fat young fish, 2lbs. I have caught about 30 bass from the 1-3 lb range from other locations and added them to my pond. How do I get control of the tilapia population? I hope the bass will eventually control the tilapia population. How do I ensure the baby bass get past the point of being prey and become predators?

Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 887
Likes: 3
B
Offline
B
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 887
Likes: 3
Short of draining and starting over, I don't think you will be able to control the tilapia.. Maybe someone else will have another idea


1.8 acre pond with CNBG, RES, HSB, and LMB
Trophy Hunter feeder.
BrianL #534561 04/29/21 09:55 AM
Joined: Apr 2021
Posts: 3
W
OP Offline
W
Joined: Apr 2021
Posts: 3
i was afraid of that. It is a community retention pond that I want to be a place for my kids to catch bass.

Joined: Apr 2021
Posts: 3
W
OP Offline
W
Joined: Apr 2021
Posts: 3
i was afraid of that. It is a community retention pond that I want to be a place for my kids to catch bass.

Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 355
Likes: 37
H
Offline
H
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 355
Likes: 37
Wrenchbass I never heard of tilapia eating LMB always the other way around. Maybe an expert will chime in and explain. It sounds like a 4.5 acre buffet for LMB to me but I don’t have tilapia or LMB.
Heppy

Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,028
Likes: 274
D
Moderator
Lunker
Offline
Moderator
Lunker
D
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,028
Likes: 274
I expect the baby bass are eating each other. I once had some babies and put them in a creek on my place. I was watching 2 that were side by side. All at once, ones tail was sticking out of the other ones mouth. So, I went back and bought some more and put them in an aquarium. The same thing happened


It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 1,882
Likes: 278
J
Online Content
J
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 1,882
Likes: 278
wrenchbass,

Moz. TP often eat fish. This has been noted in a number of papers. Here we have blues in some power plant lakes. Fishermen catch some will fishing for bass on lures like inline spinners and micro crank-baits. One of our members stocked TP in the pond's first year and they obliterated his minnow population. Soooo .... a two inch LMB might be on the menu. I would stock larger one's (say 12" or bigger).

TP ... where they live year round ... are not as good for forage as BG. LMB > 20" benefit the most and until the reach 16" may grow slowly in combination with TP


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


Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 461
Likes: 16
C
Offline
C
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 461
Likes: 16
I can't get the tilapia outof my poind either.

Invite a local bowfishing club to come over? if you are in a subdivision youll likely need to get permission.

Stock larger bass.

GL


Im going to ask a lot of questions, but only because I'm clueless


5-20 Acres in Florida. Bass/Tilapia/Bowfin/Gator
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 65
Likes: 7
C
Offline
C
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 65
Likes: 7
I know this isn't Tilapia control but when I first started looking at my pond it was super over populated with tiny BG and what looked like a million shiners. It's a 1 acre pond. I added 100 F1 bass and it took 3-4 years to get the pond close to balanced. It was 5 years before I started pulling any bass out. Last year was a major bass cull. I say that to say it may just take longer than you would like. I thought after 2 years all my bass had died, then the next year they were blasting the top of the water like mad.

Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,475
Likes: 264
E
Moderator
Hall of Fame 2014
Lunker
Offline
Moderator
Hall of Fame 2014
Lunker
E
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,475
Likes: 264
At your Fla location do the tilapia experience winter die-off due to cold? The answer to your situation is greatly influenced on this question.

You could seine some tilapia out and add advanced sized LMB (10 in) if needed. But you have to know if the tilapia will die off in winter and plan from there as unchecked the situation will probably result in reaching over carrying capacity and dissolved oxygen issues (assuming no aeration) resulting in a DO crash and die-off.

















Link Copied to Clipboard
Today's Birthdays
Bob Lusk, GaryK, GrizzFan, PhotographerDave
Recent Posts
Can anyone ID these minnows?
by Dylanfrely - 03/28/24 05:43 PM
Working on a .5acre disaster, I mean pond.
by Sunil - 03/28/24 05:33 PM
Relative weight charts in Excel ? Calculations?
by jpsdad - 03/28/24 04:51 PM
1 year after stocking question
by esshup - 03/28/24 04:48 PM
Fungus infection on fish
by BillyE - 03/28/24 04:35 PM
Yellow Perch Spawn 2024
by H20fwler - 03/28/24 04:29 PM
Alum vs Bentonite/Lathanum for Phosphorus Removal?
by FishinRod - 03/28/24 04:23 PM
New 2 acre pond stocking plan
by LANGSTER - 03/28/24 03:49 PM
Happy Birthday Bob Lusk!!
by ewest - 03/28/24 03:37 PM
Paper-shell crayfish and Japanese snails
by esshup - 03/28/24 10:39 AM
Brooder Shiners and Fry, What to do??
by Freg - 03/28/24 09:42 AM
Dewatering bags seeded to form berms?
by Justin W - 03/28/24 08:19 AM
Newly Uploaded Images
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
by Tbar, December 10
Deer at Theo's 2023
Deer at Theo's 2023
by Theo Gallus, November 13
Minnow identification
Minnow identification
by Mike Troyer, October 6
Sharing the Food
Sharing the Food
by FishinRod, September 9
Nice BGxRES
Nice BGxRES
by Theo Gallus, July 28
Snake Identification
Snake Identification
by Rangersedge, July 12

� 2014 POND BOSS INC. all rights reserved USA and Worldwide

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5