Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Sunfish-Including Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass Common Mistakes in Ponds

I recently joined a community that has 5 large ponds, from 15 to 25 acres. I have been offering my advice based on this group and from some professional I know, but am wondering what do the people in this group think are the most common mistakes when managing ponds of this size.
All input is greatly appreciated, and I am not selling this advice, just trying to get the best outputs from the ponds.
These ponds were being professionally managed before the property was sold, and you can tell a dramatic difference over the last three years on the quality of fish in the ponds.
thanks

Billy, that's a loaded question in so many ways.
As a consultant myself, it would require a good evaluation of what's going on right now, vs 3 years ago.
As for common mistakes, there are many. One of the biggest is thinking you can tell a group of owners what needs to be done. Earning the trust of those will be important or you will be spinning your wheels.
Not trying to be negative here because I think you're at the right place to get some good info.
If you would share some history about your impoundment such as what species are present now, and how has the size structure change over the last several years. Guessing you've got a bunch of small bass now??
Please share the issues.

That sounds like a wonderful place to live!! If all the five ponds are from 15-25 acres, they are lakes!!

Billy, IMO, it breaks down to water quality and predator/prey balance. Volumes could be written about each.

Oh yeah, one other thing: $$$$$

Just about the first thing we ask new members is "What are your goals?" You (and we) have to know what you want to do in order to figure out how to do it.

I think you'll need to determine what the consensus goals of the community are for these ponds, and what resources they will make available to accomplish them.

Billy,

The guys above giving advice about the actual goals is clearly the most important advice.

Once you know the goals, then you need to know what the lakes actually contain for predator fish, forage fish, and non-fish forage. Is there enough money in the budget for performing electro-shock surveys? There are multiple experts on the forum that can give excellent recommendations on how to reach the goals for the lakes, once they know the current populations.

If there is not a budget for surveys, is most of the fishing done by "regulars"? If so, a plan for them to document their catch records (species, length, and weight) would also give you valuable information to work towards your goals.

Are the lakes all readily interconnected, or can one or two be isolated from the others and also from creeks, flooded rivers etc.? If so, you might be better off intensively managing just one of the lakes and trying to hit your goals there.

Unless there is very heavy fishing pressure, one good 20 acre lake might be enough for all of the residents that fish.

One last item might be to send out a notice for "No Bucket Stocking". Lots of people think introducing some fish they think are beneficial will make the lakes better. All it does is make the management plan that much more difficult to execute if the fish create a breeding population.

Good luck on your big project! Sounds like you have a lot of potential upside.

Not having a set of goals for the ponds and not having a large enough annual budget to meet those goals.

Is there any way of knowing what, if any, were the changes that have taken place in the last three yrs as compared to before that time period, are the same amount of people and even the same people pretty much fishing the lakes and are they pretty much doing the same thing, as far as harvesting fish or do they catch and release? and what were the practices beforehand?

my experience in a BOW the size of most of these, a good bit of harvesting and removal is needed to maintain a number balance of predator and prey. and of course that will change based on desired outcome.

The others will answer that question for sure as there are so many facets to it, my observations locally is that people always catch and release and that really stunts a lake. Up at one of our northern natural lakes about 20 acres in size we would only catch 14 inch lake trout all day long...and i mean every cast was a trout with nothing bigger than that. After 2 years of fishing it very often and keeping as many as we could (and many dying on release im sure) the sizes started increasing, and now other fish this remote lake and the limited pressure on the lake has turned it into a lake where we can catch 5 and 7 pounders along with small ones.. point is fish are meant to be caught and eaten in many cases.

Cheers.

All great answers and questions, so here are some answers to some of the questions.

1. This is a brand new community with about 450 lots but only about 10 homes built as of now with no one living full time, so no goals or budgets have been set as of yet.
2. The major difference in the last three years is lack of management and feeding along with a "catch and release" policy/recommendation. Pictures from three years plus show very fat bass but lately all the pictures I have seen and all the bass I have caught have large shoulders but very skinny belly's. Most of the folks thinks these look great, but I see a fish with a very low WR.
3. The lakes are not connected but some have a creek running through them or can be connected during a flood event, maybe.
4. The only species I know of are the LMB, Crappie, BG, and maybe some BC.
5. The lakes are in far east Texas, just south of Woodville in a community called Lakeland Ranch.
I have not heard of a lot of small bass, nor an excessive amount. I don't think the bass have had enough time to overpopulate just yet.

I am currently looking for a professional that might be interested in coming out and giving a seminar, so recommendation are welcome, and I know there will be a cost.

Thanks again for all the advice, and I will keep looking on here for more.

With only 10 current residents to persuade, cajole, you might have a good chance to get ahead of the curve and establish a pond management system before the multitudes arrive.

What I was trying to say previously is that these lakes will require intense management efforts whether you do it professionally or non-professionally.

It will be a lot of time and a good bit of money to have real impacts on these lakes.

In no way do I mean that it can't be done, or shouldn't be done, just that it's a massive effort.

If resources are limited, a thought is to maybe focus on one body of water.

In most instances in a lake where feeding and management have occurred and then that is stopped you will get an overcrowded LMB population quickly. That is what you described in saying low RW and skinny with a large head/shoulders. Goals are key but to make any progress you need population analysis and water quality info. I suggest you call Bob Lusk at the Pond Boss office as he has worked with hundreds of lakes like yours.

Best advice - that is way too much water to manage by yourself. You will need help. Just harvesting enough LMB to maintain balance will be a more than full time job and you don't want LMB harvest to be only by fishing.

You have received some good advice from each of the above respondents. Pick out one or two items from each one of them and form a list of ideas.
You explain that the "HOA" property has -"5 large ponds, from 15 to 25 acres". even if each pond is just 15 acres that amounts to 75 total acres of productive water to be managed. A big, big job if it is done correctly. When each body of water is separate this makes the management even more complex due to the combined ecological diversity that is present in each different one.

ewest says - "that is way too much water to manage by yourself". IMO the best you can do is be the pond/lake leader, spokes person, educator, and guidance for the HOA. As forewarned - good lake management and knowledge is not cheap unless there are no goals for the water body. IMO just about everybody thinks pond management is easy and cheap. This is only true when one has no idea of the complexity of constantly changing systems that intertwine and function together underwater as a complete living ecosystem. Books and many articles are written about it.

I totally agree, you need help and be sure it is good help and better yet the Best Help especially you or the group is not well experienced in dealing with how best to recognize and deal with all the different problems that can be created by five different bodies of water. ALL PONDS ARE DIFFERENT DESPITE HOW SIMILIAR THEY APPEAR ABOVE THE SURFACE.

In my 40 years of professionally working with ponds - You don’t know what you don’t know.

Do your best to not pay the “dumb tax”. Dumb tax is having to later pay a costly amount for making an previous unwise decision or action aka a mistake. Usually everyone pays a “dumb tax”. Dumb tax can be very costly when dealing with large bodies of water. Sometimes it is very difficult to almost impossible to fix a really dumb action.

Two of the most important things that the lake association should do is: firstly do some due diligence for finding out who are the high caliber, well experienced, very knowledgeable pond management professionals available to your location for what the possibilities are and what the REALISTIC goals can be for the 5 pond / lake system. Just establishing and learning about some realistic, achievable goals for a prior built lake can be a real challenge to develop good practical GOALS from what is possible. Locate some pond/lake management professionals. Get a resume and a list of past projects and appropriate references. Very important - check the references and talk to the references. Not doing this usually results in paying the “dumb tax”. Just because he has a truck with a boat and chemical sprayer does not mean he is a well experienced and smart pond consultant. Know his history.

Second thing then is hire and LISTEN to and DO what the chosen one tells you to do. Or hire him/them to do the work. Know the up-front costs. Ask what to expect and what to get from their services. Ask if they are willing to stand behind their advice and work actions. Ask what happens if their management does not produce the agreed upon goals. Are there any guarantees? What happens when the plans / actions when paid for do not work as promised?

I wholly agree with ewest - contact our mentor Bob Lusk. You can and probably should contact a second professional for 2nd opinion. Bob Lusk is not just a professional pond / lake manager but one that is nationally recognized by the American Fisheries Society. Top notch. IMO - the best available and he is even based in your state of Texas.

Some Preparatory Homework from PBoss Magazine articles. These back issues of Pond Boss Magazine are available for purchase.
https://www.pondboss.com/back-issues

If you live on a pond/lake you should subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine for up-do-date bimonthly arriving of - How to Reference Material.

Suggested reading from back PB issues.
Evaluating Your Pond. May-Jun 2021 pg 30-34. Lusk provides several ideas to analyze what going on and what to collect in a pond.
EVALUATING YOUR FISHERY. Jan-Feb 2023 Lusk tells how to make smart decisions for better management of your fishery. Focuses on being proactive, sizes classes, data collection and sampling.

MANAGING ESTABLISHED LAKES. May-June 2023. Lusk gives misconceptions, how to set goals, evaluate, being proactive or reactive. What to look for to better manage your older water body. Defines balance and how to begin seeing the “big 5” water, habitat, food chain, genetics, and harvest plan.

THE DUMB TAX. May-Jun 2022 pg 32-36. Lusk defines it by using 6 examples and gives ways to avoid getting the dumb tax.

NEW POND OWNERS HAVE A STEEP LEARNING CURVE. Mar – Apr 2020 pg6-8. Lusk tells ways to recognize your knowledge limits.

Jan-Feb 2019
YOUR POND’S PURPOSE. Lusk points out some helpful goals for a pond.
STATUS QUO. Lusk every pond decision and action creates reaction. Make them work toward your goals.

Bob Lusk has a magazine article dealing with Home Owners Associations, however I looked & looked and could not find that article.

All good advice above. I did not see unless I missed it, if there were any expectations of some of these lakes to be swimming lakes. Those would be managed differently I would believe.

Mike