Hey guys! Finished grad school and bought a house with two small ponds. Hoping to get a little advice for managing the two existing 1/3 acre and 1/4 acre ponds on a budget! I will be able to spend around 1800 to 2000 dollars on them this year and really would like to avoid having to drain them and start over-- but i can if that is the only solution. The previous owner stocked the quarter acre pond with bluegill and the 1/3 acre pond with largemouth bass, bluegill and channel catfish. Both ponds were dug to raise foundation around the house and are supposed to be around 15 feet deep at the deepest locations. Around 2 years ago there was a summer fish kill and all of the largemouth bass and a lot of channel catfish in the 1/3 acre pond died. (I think) I have been trying to catch largemouth bass for several days using every bait in the tackle box with no success.
I have been feeding both ponds and there are hundreds of bluegill and at least a hundred 4 inch catfish in the larger 1/3 acre pond. There seem to be green sunfish and bluegill in both ponds. Biggest bluegill are 5-6 inches long with larger than normal eyes and are very thin. I love fried fish but there honestly isnt enough meat on them to be worth cleaning yet. I set out a fish trap today and have caught hundreds of healthy looking 2.5 - 3 inch bluegill. Is there any hope that these old 5-6 inch fish will fill out and grow a little more?
So I believe the problem is a bluegill overpopulation issue? I took out about a gallons worth (literally hundreds) of the 2-3 inch sunfish today to freeze for catfish bait later. Should I be removing every catfish I take out as well?
I hope to use the smallest pond as a grow out pond for hybrid striped bass. Just want to get things a little more balanced before I add more fish to the problem. My goal is to raise the biggest bluegill possible and to be able to have as many hybrid striped bass as I can as well. I have plenty of time to feed, catch and remove fish and do not have to have channel catfish in either ponds. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!! I will post pictures soon and will keep y'all updated on the progress.
