First time post, though I've been following this incredible resource for months and subscribe to the magazine.
I moved into a home ~1.5 years ago in central Illinois with three ponds on the property, two of which I'm managing. Both ponds are old limestone quarries (great alkalinity!) and have been around for ~50 years. the smaller pond is an acre in size and averages ~11' deep, the other is 7 acres in size and averages ~8' deep. Had an electro-survey done the first spring and both ponds had low BG populations, a fair population of small LMB, a few bigger bass (up to 3.5 lbs) and too many carp (one is to many as far as I'm concerned). Zero CC and WC were identified during the survey, but as the waters warmed they showed up in my catches.
My goal at the time was to have a LMB/Sunfish pond with one additional species to be determined (pike, musky or walleye). I also want to get the CC and carp totally out of both ponds (easier said then done).
Since the survey, I started removing LMB <14", GSF, WC, CC, and carp. Added 40 and 10 brush piles so far to the 7 and 1 acre ponds, respectively. Plan to add another 20 to the larger pond before next spring. The fish removal numbers from the 7 ac pond since I started managing it are as follows.
LMB: 225, CC: 145, GSF: 200, WC:44, Carp:6 Zero harvest on the BG as I want them to grow in number and size.
Added a fish feeder to the small pond last summer, primarily to help the BG. This spring I added 50 pellet fed LMB and 50 HSB, both are growing well.
Added a fish feeder to the larger pond this spring for the BG and to concentrate the CC. BG are getting bigger and the CC #'s are going down (only see ~30 at feeding time). Plan to add a second feeder next spring on a different area of the lake. Should also note that I'm catching more ~15"+ LMB this year than last and in general they have better girths. Checked a couple of the larger ones on the length/weight scale and they were in the 90th percentile on weight.
I've also reached a tentative decision on my pond goals, but need guidance on whether this is achievable. My new goal is to have LMB, HSB, and sunfish in the 7 acre pond. The one acre pond will be used for the pellet fed LMB, HSB, and BG. Emphasis is on the LMB and HSB size rather than trying to grow large BG.
Also plan to add 750 and 250 1-2" RES to the 7 and 1 acre ponds this fall.
My issue is that I'm not sure I have enough forage fish (primarily BG) in the 7 acre pond for both the LMB and HSB. I'm not so concerned about the LMB because the BG population looks to be improving. The HSB is another story. I believe they prefer open water feeding and I will be adding supplemental feed, but I'm not sure there will be enough food for them to get big and fat. So is it a wise move to add the HSB to the pond? If it is, are there management approaches I should change? Should I consider another forage fish besides the BG? I'm out of my league on how to address these questions, so I'll appreciate all the help you can offer. Thanks!
Jeff
