Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Corrective Stocking of My Goofy Pond

Good body condition esp coming out of Winter, Scott.

QA - If your HSB are feeding actively, the pellet fly is automatic - try wrapping pellet in panty hose, cut, tie off top with some thread with a couple overhand knots, hook the top of the tie off section and cast. I do this frequently with the Optimal hand throw LMB pellets, if I use a smaller pellet, go to the fly rod as they're tough to present otherwise.

I also find nose hooked BG or GSH kept struggling at the surface is also reliable and a really fun way to fish for HSB. Explosive strikes - it's a hoot.

My struggles managing high density cray populations is well documented. I've tried many solutions: Trapping, seining, stocking adult SMB, and the only thing that REALLY worked was draining, seining, draining remaining water, and over wintering the dry pond. Crays either froze, were preyed upon by coons, or migrated elsewhere. It took me 4 seasons of battling to finally resort to this extreme tactic. I'm not stating that's the only solution, but in my case it was. I suspect a few single sex LMB or CC might have had an impact with some patience, but I was absolutely done with a perpetually turbid pond devoid of macrophytes, although the complete absence of FA was nice.

I think RES relish YOY crays, but they quickly outgrow gape capability of RES after a few months, but another stocking of some RES might be a good play.

If you're not regularly catching your HBG I suspect your assessment is correct that the population is thin. You can cast net or seine and get a good idea on population density especially during feeding, but if you verify HBG population is low, stocking additional fish is a wise investment.

I'd continue trapping all the crays you can in the meanwhile and consider LMB angling in the Spring when sex is easily verified if a few single sex LMB appeals to you. A case can be made for stocking either male or female LMB, but be dang sure you're committed to verifying before stocking or the fishery will never be reclaimed with LMB reproduction. If you tire of the LMB or find their predation on your lepomis too high you can remove them once the cray population is managed. Just an option for you.