Hey PB,

Been reading as much of this forum as possible over the last year, thanks so much for all the wisdom.

Creating an account because I want to give back, if possible, but also so I can ask questions geared towards my particular situation. My pond is smaller than most, and I live farther north than most... and it can be a challenge to find information that pertains to my situation.

I moved onto this property almost 2 years ago. The pond is about 1/3 acre and from 1-8 feet deep. It was stocked with bass 15 years ago... and that's all that was done. After fishing it a bunch the first year, I realized the pond was full of stunted bass... and nothing else.

My goals? Healthy fish my kids can catch for fun. I just sickened me to see all the emaciated bass in this pond.

This past year, after a bunch of research, we took 2 steps to start correcting the problem:
1. Caught a bunch of mature bluegills (approx 300) from a friend's pond and put them into my pond
2. Caught and removed every bass we could from my pond and culled them

At this point, I'm really debating what to do with this pond. I was pretty sure that BG and LMB were the answer... but now I'm realizing that most of the BG/LMB stuff I've read comes from southern ponds... and might not work in such a small northern pond??

So that leads me scratching my head as far as what to do with my pond. I don't need trophy fish, just healthy populations of healthy fish. Can I make bass/bluegill work? That would be my preference... but healthy and balanced is the real goal. Does that mean bluegills and cats? Ok. Does that mean perch only? Fine. I'm open to almost anything.

I just want a self-sustaining, healthy pond... and I'm willing to put in the work to make that happen! Thanks so much!

Ps. I don't own the property... so expanding the pond is out of the question, as much as I'd like to.