Here are MANY links to previous PBoss Forum discussions as an informational library about largemouth bass (LMB)
with an emphasis on the problem of overcrowded bass and managing bass numbers. Other related newer and older discussions will be added as they occur. Thanks for helping.
First thing for you I have added a short section about how to best handle large bass that you will hopefully catch from your pond. Feed them, handle them PROPERLY with emphasis on PROPERLY, and they will grow into trophies.
Keep in mind that as bass get larger you SHOULD NOT hold them solely by the jaw because their full weight can disjoint or damage the mandible hinges of the jaw. A big bass with a broken or damaged jaw is almost always after released becomes a later mortality due to being hampered in capturing its food. Dead bass DO NOT AKWAYS FLOAT!.
No use injuring or killing your biggest bass needlessly. Treat your biggest bass as a valuable resource. Improper handling will result in premature death of the numbers of bigger bass per acre. Also do your very best to not let the bass lie on the ground. This wipes the slime layer off their body and exposes that area for fungus growth.
Anything you do to that bass to remove a portion of its body slime layer will expose this area to growth of fungus which puts a big stress on the bass. The amount of stress can in a week or two later eventually kill this fish. Previous discussions of correct way to handle large bass
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=402580Examples of Bad Handling
http://www.laperlaranchresort.com/fishing1.htmlThread that explains the Proper way to hold big bass for removing hooks or for taking photos
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=412230#Post412230Bob Lusk Says About Handling Trophy Fish.
Do Not, under any circumstances, hold a true trophy bass by its lower jaw without supporting its body with your other hand under the rear part of its stomach. By no means, with any bass of any size, ever pull back on the jaw of your fish, as it can become quickly fractured or dislocated. That's usually a death sentence to a big fish. If you don't believe me, ask those who run the ShareLunker program at the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Several great specimens were donated to that program last year to spawn and help stock public lakes around the state. But, those gorgeous girls didn't get past angler handling to do what they could do to help many other lakes. They died from bad handling.
From:
https://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/hold-a-fish.html Why the first pond stocking of bigger bass from another pond or fish farm may not be a good idea. Plus numerous other items, ideas, and multiple discussions for growing big bass. Consider this as homework and more education.
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=370018#Post370018This information linked below discusses new very good information about what it takes to grow big bass and trophy bass. Keep in mind that the bigger LM bass get in a pond there will be fewer of them per acre compared to mostly bass that are 2lb smaller individuals per acre. This is because of the natural carrying capacity dynamics of a pond. Ponds based on internal conditions and habitat can only grow a set amount of fish poundage.
https://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=553917#Post553917Skinny Bass
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthrea...w+trophy+bass&Search=true#Post240734Length & Weight
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=231584#Post231584http://lakework.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Largemouth-Bass-Relative-Weight-Index.pdfWhat is needed for a goal of growing a trophy bass pond?. Should I do it, what is needed, advantages and disadvantages?? . What is the best size pond to make it a trophy bass pond??? Some pond owners do not like their trophy bass pond because the biggest bass are too few and too hard to catch. Maintaining enough food to feed mostly trophy bass is EXPENSIVE and difficult. It almost always takes fishery management professional help the do it so it works well or the best because it usually requires occasional electroshocking methods to monitor and remove the proper bass so biggest bass have less competition and grow the best. Maintaining trophy bass ponds requires careful management to make sure the big bass are ALWAYS best fed and optiminually growing fish.
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=486473#Post486473 Check to see if your bass are growing well and if there is enough food and right size of foods for them to stay fat, plus examples of F1 bass.
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=404566#Post404566Estimating weight from length
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=24156#Post24156Largemouth Bass (LMB) Mouth Gape Data
See post and link to info further below in the thread.
Keeping Records & Weighing
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=208600#Post208600Example of Jakeb's good monitoring and management to grow 10 lb bass:
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=405499#Post405499Removal discussion
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=224725#Post224725Removal numbers
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=208600#Post208600A common amount of small bass to remove from a bass crowded pond is
30# of LMB per surface acre in a LMB crowded pond for the first year and monitor the RW's of the fish that are caught. 2nd year depending on the RW's, remove another 30# per acre or drop back to the maintenance level of 20#/surface acre. The standard weight for a 12" long LMbass is close to one pound, although when overcrowded these 12" bass could weigh 10 to 13 ounces each.
Bass size to remove
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=149928#Post149928Remove bass before the spawn
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=153675#Post153675BG removal when managing for large bass?
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=143309#Post143309http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=143309#Post143309Catching smaller bass ideas:
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=208600#Post208600Skinny vs stunted bass
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=208600#Post208600Skinny Bass solution
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=192549#Post192549Using slow Growing or Stunted Bass For Restocking
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=458695#Post458695Small bass evaluating, removal, and forage
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=186624#Post186624Too Many Smaller Bass and Not Enough Bluegill
https://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=527582#Post527582Estimated Success of Supplement Stocking of Fingerling Bass & Their Growth Potential
https://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=169568#Post169568https://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthre...st&topic=0&Search=true#Post22246Helping supplemental fingerlings survive = Habituation
https://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=8&Number=26019&SearchMore Habituation
https://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=7&Number=22246&SearchResults of Five Years of Removing Bass to Improve Size Structure
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=469596&page=1 Bass not growing well
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=370024#Post370024Stunted bass and BG balance
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=175958#Post175958Too many first spawn of bass lack of BG
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=410122#Post410122Small and large bass, no medium bass
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=156282#Post156282Average LMB size change and PBoss articles to read about overpopulation
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=255343#Post255343 Tagging Bass and Other Fish
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=442013#Post442013Evaluating catch data from Tagged Bass
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthrea...+crowded+bass&Search=true#Post248457How to recognize individual bass by using body markings.
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=374549&#Post374549FISH TAGGING INFO FOR MONITORING INDIVIDUAL FISH OR GROUPS OF BASS
https://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=544843#Post544843Wanting to grow big bass in a new 5 ac northern pond (Illinois).
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=308836Catching inconsistent sizes of bass
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=406997#Post406997Stocking bass and bluegill: north vs south:
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=413792#Post413792Discussion of bluegill hybrids (intergrades), RES, and growth rates of bass and forms of bluegill.
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=432446&page=1Tiger Bass F1's
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=274109Pond 2ac TX wanting bass catch-ability not necessarily trophies: F1's, Florida, or regular northern or native bass strain?
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=501219#Post501219Here is a link to a good in-depth thoughtful discussion in June-July 2019 focused on a pond's carrying capacity and ability to grow bass and big bass - numbers and size matters per acre of water. It includes a link to a spreadsheet for calculating carrying capacity.
The concepts and dilemma apply to growing sport fish in all ponds. The bigger the fish become the fewer numbers of them there are and the longer they have been exposed to anglers thus the harder it becomes to catch them.
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=509420#Post509420All Female Bass Discussed The Problems and Optional Ideas
https://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=559368#Post559368Very good information about what allows some waters to grow trophy bass. Using all female bass. Benefits using trout for growing trophy bass. What allows some waters to grow trophy bass and some information and plans of how to do it. Keeping the biggest bass well fed and growing at optimum growth rates is the biggest hurdle for all trophy fisheries. Food shortages are almost always the main problem. Too many bass not getting enough food.
https://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=563152&page=1
