Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Large bass

I have a old pond almost an acre. I had about five large bass in it about 24 inches. I let a friends familiy fish it when I went on vacation and when I got back they were gone. That was 2-3 years ago. My problem is that I have not caught or seen any bass that size since. The bluegill pop in that time seems to have exploded. There are a good number of small bass but no biggens. I have shiners,crappie,bluegill,perch and minnows in the pond, so there is enough food. Ant info would be helpfull. Thanks

I would think any bass in western PA of that size were close to the end of their lifespan anyway so any not caught might not be here three years later. Depending on their condition factors you are talking 6 lb. plus bass.

Could be you still have some large bass but they are difficult to catch due to the abundant food supply.

I'll let the experts chime in on this one but I have some hunches.

My first thought is that you may have too many small bass, but if the food supply is as thick as you mention, and their relative weight is OK, I think you have another problem. Sounds like you have regular visitors that enjoy eating fish. I think you should record your progress for a while before you remove any more. In a recent post by Christopher, an Excel spreadsheet was mentioned for tracking Relative Weight, you need to get a copy of it, he has his data in there and you can really see the improvements he's made by charting and knowing what's going on.

After that incident only a couple familiy members are aloud to fish and its only release unless a record is caught and we split the winnings. Thanks for the info.