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Like so many pondowners in this region, I fretted as water levels fell...and fell... and fell. At worst, down 3 feet. Even in my comparatively deep pond, max depth around 20 feet near the dam, that was a lot of water gone. Pond weeds grew where they normally didn't, my forage pond basically went dry, much of the shoreline was exposed. I had to extend my dock out another ten feet. Ugly scene.

But did it really do long term harm to my fishery?

I ask because we all know about the new lake (pond?) effect, an explosion of fish following the inundation of land. Bob Lusk talks about the first generation of LMB being the best chance for lunkers. Ivie Lake, nearly dried up at one time, now offers the best trophy LMB fishing in Texas. Heck, I was considering drawing down my own little piece of heaven deliberately, until nature did it for me.

Two things I notice now that my place is at full pool. One, the 3 to 5 inch panfish are a heck of a lot scarcer than they used to be. YOY and bigguns doing fine, just that size group missing. Were they forced out of their shallow safe haunts to where bass could devour them? Two, bass seem to have gained girth, and not just the females carrying eggs. Relative weight definitely up compared with same time last year.

Obviously it's been a stressful time for pondowners, including me. But maybe there's a bright side. What do you think?

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I think you are on the money . Same thing going on here except water is still down 18”

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I've had the same thoughts. Bass are certainly larger circumference than this time last yr. Simply no place for forage fish to hide right now. I worry that it will cost long term if there isn't enough forage adults left to make a lot of babies this spring and summer. But... the bass sure look good now. I suspect removing predators will be particularly important this yr. Thoughts?


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catscratch, you're likely correct about need to up harvest of LMB. I seem to recall Bob Lusk saying that BG/CNBG somehow know that when the water comes back, they need to spawn more aggressively to make up for losses during drought. So hopefully any shortage of prey will prove temporary. In the meantime, harvest LMB and increase feeding BG.


7ac 2015 CNBG RES FHM 2016 TP FLMB 2017 NLMB GSH L 2018 TP & 70 HSB PK 2019 TP RBT 2020 TFS TP 25 HSB 250 F1,L,RBT -206 2021 TFS TP GSH L,-312 2022 GSH TP CR TFS RBT -234, 2023 BG TP TFS NLMB, -160




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BG/CNBG should be spawning soon if they haven't already done so. Spend some time and throw in some added structure for the fry to hide in. The only advantage to a massive drawdown is the abundance of shoreline structure it creates as grass/weeds/brush fill in the void. Odds are you will be lacking forage in the 1-4" size.

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anthropic,

Did you get some water to fill up your forage pond yet?

Getting some forage started now that could be grown up to your missing size range, and then released this summer, might help your "gap" predators that are going to otherwise be deficient for their optimal prey size this year.

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Originally Posted by anthropic
Like so many pondowners in this region, I fretted as water levels fell...and fell... and fell. ....

But did it really do long term harm to my fishery?

... Heck, I was considering drawing down my own little piece of heaven deliberately, until nature did it for me.

Two things I notice now that my place is at full pool. One, the 3 to 5 inch panfish are a heck of a lot scarcer than they used to be. YOY and bigguns doing fine, just that size group missing. Were they forced out of their shallow safe haunts to where bass could devour them? Two, bass seem to have gained girth, and not just the females carrying eggs. Relative weight definitely up compared with same time last year.

.... What do you think?

Those are two of the reasons many pond manuals suggest the use of intentional drawdowns. It is a commonly used management technique used more often in areas that get plenty of rain. You do have to pay attention to the population status and not let to many of a year class get decimated.
Also did you notice a reduction of small LMB (6-10 inches)? That is another often used reason for a drawdown - control of over abundant small LMB.

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Originally Posted by Eastland
BG/CNBG should be spawning soon if they haven't already done so. Spend some time and throw in some added structure for the fry to hide in. The only advantage to a massive drawdown is the abundance of shoreline structure it creates as grass/weeds/brush fill in the void. Odds are you will be lacking forage in the 1-4" size.

Originally Posted by FishinRod
anthropic,

Did you get some water to fill up your forage pond yet?

Getting some forage started now that could be grown up to your missing size range, and then released this summer, might help your "gap" predators that are going to otherwise be deficient for their optimal prey size this year.

I'm putting your posts together because you make similar good points. Last fall's electrosurvey, done when pond was 3' low, showed sudden gap in panfish sizes most vulnerable to LMB predation. IIRC, stocked about 250 or 300 CNBG in the 3 to 5" range to help make up for deficit. But that's just a temporary stopgap.

Rod, my forage pond is still pretty low, but I'm gonna put in 8 or 10 healthy CNBG soon. May need to pump from main pond, worth it now at full pool. Forage pond can grow a lot of fish, especially when fed.

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Originally Posted by ewest
Those are two of the reasons many pond manuals suggest the use of intentional drawdowns. It is a commonly used management technique used more often in areas that get plenty of rain. You do have to pay attention to the population status and not let to many of a year class get decimated.
Also did you notice a reduction of small LMB (6-10 inches)? That is another often used reason for a drawdown - control of over abundant small LMB.

Never really thought about the impact on small LMB. Thanks for the info!

And yeah, the only reason I've hesitated to do a drawdown has been fear that rainfall might not refill pond quickly. A gamble I haven't quite been willing to take.

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Originally Posted by Eastland
BG/CNBG should be spawning soon if they haven't already done so. Spend some time and throw in some added structure for the fry to hide in. The only advantage to a massive drawdown is the abundance of shoreline structure it creates as grass/weeds/brush fill in the void. Odds are you will be lacking forage in the 1-4" size.
Our BG have been spawning for several weeks, since early March at least.


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Originally Posted by ewest
...It is a commonly used management technique used more often in areas that get plenty of rain. You do have to pay attention to the population status and not let to many of a year class get decimated...

Ewest's post may be the most important statement made on this thread. Water drops are great unless the water table stays low. If so, then you can expect a stressed forage season on the way.


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We are still 8-10 inch low here. Have defiantly noticed fewer bluegill feeding at feeder but... they are huge! have caught many over a pound and that was NOT the case last year. I see lots of schools of small fish on banks I believe to be cnbg. I have NOT seen any bass fry yet. Like others, the lmb I am able to catch are health and fat looking. My pond got SIX FOOT low!! Deepest water I had for awhile was only 6 foot!!


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Caught this one last week. 20.375 inch girth. Fattest bass I've ever caught. Water was the lowest we've ever seen for the winter.

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19 acre watershed pond
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Congratulations, catscratch! What a beast!!!


7ac 2015 CNBG RES FHM 2016 TP FLMB 2017 NLMB GSH L 2018 TP & 70 HSB PK 2019 TP RBT 2020 TFS TP 25 HSB 250 F1,L,RBT -206 2021 TFS TP GSH L,-312 2022 GSH TP CR TFS RBT -234, 2023 BG TP TFS NLMB, -160




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Originally Posted by anthropic
Congratulations, catscratch! What a beast!!!
Thanks! I sure hope what you said previously about bluegill spawning more aggressively when the water comes back up holds true. It's great catching fat bass but I sure worry about not having much forage for the next season or two.


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Originally Posted by catscratch
Caught this one last week. 20.375 inch girth. Fattest bass I've ever caught. Water was the lowest we've ever seen for the winter.

She is a beaut catscratch!

Did you weigh her?

I assume you put her back in, so she can continue to add nice LMB in the future to your pond.

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Originally Posted by FishinRod
Originally Posted by catscratch
Caught this one last week. 20.375 inch girth. Fattest bass I've ever caught. Water was the lowest we've ever seen for the winter.

She is a beaut catscratch!

Did you weigh her?

I assume you put her back in, so she can continue to add nice LMB in the future to your pond.

No sir, didn't weigh her. Took a length and a girth measurement, a few pics, and threw her back. She seemed lively on release so maybe someone will catch her another day. My oldest caught a 21 inch long toad yesterday in about the same spot.


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Originally Posted by catscratch
My oldest caught a 21 inch long toad yesterday in about the same spot.

No wonder your LMB are so big, they have big forage!

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So I have a two acre pond at my house in Central Texas that I have water well availability - would it make sense to let my pond draw down some this summer and then refill with my well? If so how far down should I let it go?

I have a mature pond in that I have lots of forage - I added 15 Camelot floridas a year ago - I feed a healthy amount - thanks for the input

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tim,

How deep is your pond? If cost is a consideration, what will your electricity costs be to re-fill each foot of draw down? (The last foot will be the largest and most expensive.)

I believe the theory is, that drawing down the pond a few feet will cause the forage species that hide in shallow water to be forced out into open water. If the ambush structures for your predators are still in sufficient water, then your predators should gorge on the forage.

Another effect is that some terrestrial plants should start growing on your newly exposed pond bottom. When you raise the water level back to normal pool, that vegetation should be flooded and provide short-term new cover for your forage species. Hopefully, they will reproduce rapidly and thrive in that new cover. However, the terrestrial plants will start decaying at some point. When that cover thins, the predators should be able to get at the new, abundant forage.

I would think having a "forage rich" pond would be important to get a benefit from drawing down your water level.

I would think having a pond poor in shallow cover would be important to get a benefit from flooding "new" vegetation when filling the pond back up.

Does either of those conditions match your pond?

Just my 2 cents worth, from a non-expert.

Finally, there is no substitute for experimental data! If your fishing is not great now, perhaps run an experiment on your on pond? Pull down 1-1/2 to 2 feet. Maybe even broadcast some barley? Fill back up after some good vegetation growth.

(Your experiment will NOT be perfect. There will be lots of other variables for your pond during the pull down/refill cycle.)

Good luck!

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Tim, one thing to watch for after the drawdown is population distribution of forage fish.

My pond got three feet low last summer due to drought -- I don't have a well so had to wait for rains to refill, months later. In the meantime, electro-survey found that my 3 to 5 inch size CNBG/BG had been virtually wiped out. They were ideal eating size for my LMB, so when flushed out of shallow cover didn't last long. Big panfish did fine, as most LMB can't eat them.

I had some 3 to 5 inch panfish stocked, may need to stock more this spring. Giant BG are fun, but as Bob Lusk has pointed out, we need a JV team to replace the varsity when they go to that big pond in the sky!


7ac 2015 CNBG RES FHM 2016 TP FLMB 2017 NLMB GSH L 2018 TP & 70 HSB PK 2019 TP RBT 2020 TFS TP 25 HSB 250 F1,L,RBT -206 2021 TFS TP GSH L,-312 2022 GSH TP CR TFS RBT -234, 2023 BG TP TFS NLMB, -160





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