Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Bass starving during bloom?

I had a heavy bloom going in my pond for most of May and June. Average sechi readings od 12-14". During the bloom the bass were pretty much impossible to catch.

The bloom has dissipated over the last couple weeks going to 18" and really clearing up this week to about 3.5'. I've caught a couple of the larger bass during this time and they looked extremely skinny - no belly at all. Caught one yesterday that should be around 5lbs and it was closer to 3.5 lbs. The smaller bass I've caught don't seem as affected. In past couple years bass of these lengths were not skinny (though not hog like).

Historically the pond has been fairly clear with 4' or more of visibility and weedy. I'm wondering if the older bass could not adjust to the bloom and had trouble feeding.

Another thing I noticed was I saw no evidence of the bass spawning. Nothing would hit lures in the shallow area in April/May and I haven't seen schools of fry. Even the BG spawn seems pretty minimal - have only seen a few fry. Adult and forage size BG can be seen in moderate numbers in the shallows.

I wonder what caused the unusual bloom. Maybe something changed the water enough that it threw the fish off. Did you see any signs of cyanobacteria that could have messed up the pond?

nvcdl,

The bloom is probably a response to the liming you did. It may have been a limiting factor with other nutrients sufficient or possibly excessive. As for why you are not getting a favorable response from the fish ... I am reluctant to venture a guess. Hopefully it was just a little too much bloom and now that it has subdued ... perhaps fish reproduction will go into full swing.

Yes - the liming was key.

I suspect that the reason my fish got fungus last summer was because the fertilizer I added then (w/o result) was acting as a pollutant. The pond was likely getting plenty of nutrients all along - just needed liming to get a bloom.

Suggest you get the pond water / dirt tested to eliminate uncertainty. Often alkalinity is a limiting factor and no fertilizer is needed. If larger LMB are skinny (other than immediately post spawn) then there is a shortage of food at the right size ( i.e. 4-6 inch BG for example) for 3 lb LMB.

I have no doubt the pond needed liming as it made all the difference. There seem to be a good number of BG that would give the bigger bass a meal. I'm debating now how long I should keep a bloom going. When the initial bloom wore off the visibility went to about 3.5' -4'. When I added recommended amount of perfect pond + last week the visibility dropped to about 18" (where it is now). I'm wondering if I should keep bloom going through summer or stop fertilizing.

Check alkalinity when the bloom goes away and if it is still over 40 ppm, then and only then add more fertilizer. You might not need to add any more. I'd keep the bloom going, but be very careful with the fertilizer - it's a lot easier to add more than to take some out.

Agree and just because you can't see the difference does not mean it is not working.

Yup - I went overboard with fertilizer last year trying to get a bloom and I believe it was reason the fish got fungus.