Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations "Tried and True"

What does this mean... I think it means diff things to diff folks in diff parts of the country, etc. However when responding to another thread, what size, I thought I would put something here and read what others say....

What do you consider tried and true pond mgmt practices?

I will quickly put what I think is tried and true here vs, what I recommond for client wanting quality bass fishery. Lusk want an article idea... this thread might write itself.

Tried and True moslty derived from years of DNR suggestions...

Stock:
Per acre- 400 bg 100 re(redear) 500 channel cats in spring stock 50 largemouth bass
lime to raise alkalinity, ferilize to maximize fertility
add cover for increased fishability
Harvest 65 lbs of bluegill and 10 lbs of bass/unferilized acre/year
Release all bass less than 12 inches

Happily I think this "tried and true" is changing to what I think is the new "tried and true" for quality bass.

Here goes
Stock per acre 800 bluegill 200 redear (0-100 depending on goals harvest,etc) channel catfish, 10 lbs fathead minnows, 3500 (total) threadfin shad
Lime/fertilize if conditions are right
Supplementally feed 36% protein fish food for bluegill, one feder for every 1-4 acres
Add cover of variuos types in many water depths mostly shallower
Harvest: very few bluegill and defnently not 10 lbs for every bass as used to be t and t.
Harvest smaller bass so larger size can grow to quality/trophy size. Depending on fertility 15-25 lbs/ac/yr.
Harvest 80-90% of catfish prior to reaching 2 lbs.
Around here new ideas not yet tried and true... gizzard shad for trophy ponds, golden shiners larger prey species, aeration to improve water quality in fertilized ponds, bacteria for algae control, etc. I'm leaving out some stuff but hope you get my point and look forward to what others consider tried and true. back to work

Yeah this is what I would say is the basic for treid and true trophy Bass lake. I know of a family member who is doing this ver thing, and the results are ASTOUNDING!!!!

Greg,

This may sound like a flippant answer, but its not. I’m as serious as a water turkey landing on my pond.

I believe there are very few, if any, absolutes in pond management. There are many “tried” but few “true” in the absolute sense.

Start at the individual pond level. Some things are predictable, i.e. a predictable response to any given stimulus. Even those things however are usually only understood at the individual cause and effect level. Example, if I fertilize I will get more plankton….but what about other considerations like weeds, like the overall health of the pond. We know very little on an individual pond basis, other than at the stimulus/response level. The pond system level is not well understood.

Now, move up the ladder from an individual pond system to a region of the country, a system of systems. Things get even less “true”. Then move up to across regions of just this country the SE vs the Texas gulf coast. The Texas gulf coast vs West Texas, not to mention New York and such. In that regard very little is “true” in the absolute sense. There is no system of systems understanding at this level.

I was struck by Bob Lusk’s eloquent description of this on Saturday. To paraphrase Bob, and I can’t do it justice, he said the older he gets the more he realizes that “tried and true” is a fallacy. He said that today the things he thought were tried and true 10 years ago are no longer the case. The rate of change is accelerating.

No, in my mind, there are few if any pond absolutes. Adhering to only what was “tried and true” at some nebulous point in time, will result in missing out on the best part of the adventure in ponding. I don’t want to miss anything and will suffer disappointments as a result, but will also enjoy the journey much more.

Well, this is why I rarely post a question. Seems others did not put down what I hoped to see. ML I wanted to see what you personally as well as others consider tried and true in the way you describe them in other post. In other words you seem to think it is out of the box to suggest tiliapia. It is not I would do it I know it works but we can not in GA. I have had client doing that for over 5 years in AL. Also tried and true is not supplemental feeding bluegill, that is new concept so think most folks around here.
Oh well I tried and failed to get my point across.

The first time I ever saw the term "tried and true" on this Forum was when I was accused of forcing(or something like that) the masses away from the "tried and true".

So, naturally, I asked what is this thing called "tried and true"?

Its not my term, not part of my approach and I honestly do not believe there is a "true" in the absolute sense of ponds as a system of systems across this great Country. There are guidelines, there are lessons learned, there are recommendations, and there are new ideas constantly coming along...but "true", I just do not believe there is a holy grail of "true" that anyone has.

Bob Lusk, to me, validated that belief this past Saturday. In response to my statements that I felt like I was in a very small minority of the Forum, he told me in the open meeting that most pond folks he knows of want exactly what I want and am striving for in my ponds.

The nice thing is there is plenty of room in this activity for all views, including those who have a "tried and true" and those who are still searching for it. I hope this Forum always encourages both.

I can tell you what is tried and true in pond management...that is blue gill. No matter what you decide to manage for as predators IT HAS TO START WITH YOUR FORAGE BASE.....PERIOD!!!! That is nothing but PURE MATHMATICS!! It could be Crappie, LMB, BIG CATFISH, HSB, or a combination of these, you still have to find a way to forage them.

As a matter of fact I can't imagine not have LMB in your management plans either....It seems ONLY logical that you have to start off with a good Bass Bream population, before you do ANYTHING ELSE!!

Now THAT is TRIED and TRUE....

I guess you'd might call this 'Good Fundamentals' of pond management, sort of like the running, blocking, and tackling in football. If you can't do these three, don't try to do anything else in your play book.