Hi, newly registered to the forum. I've been lurking/searching the forum for a while, regarding this issue. I own 2/3s of the shoreline of a ~3 acre pond. The remainder of the shoreline is owned by 6 homes/an hoa. The pond is 10' at deepest point, average is 5' ish. It is drainage fed from the neighborhood. This spring will start year 3 of me attempting to manage fish populations.
My current evaluation sits at:
LMB-Catchable size (14+") were stocked by neighbors in the past (58 fish stocked, supposedly) I have never fished for the bass, but caught 3 different year classes on worm/bobber last summer (4", 7-8" and ~12") and these fish were all very healthy (RW is a new concept for me, but all fish I caught were football shaped!)
GSF- Multiple age classes present
BG-Multiple age classes present, no large fish. Moderate population at best.
Common Carp-present and reproducing. Were introduced in a flood over a decade ago. We removed 6 5 gallon pails full of adults last year. Minnow trap shows plenty of juvenile carp.
Bowfin/Dogfish-juveniles present in small numbers in minnow trap (native here, likely introduced sane time as carp)
Bullhead-present in pretty decent numbers.
Not much else for minnows/ forage base
Goals-Reduce carp and bullhead population. Grow as many 3-5 lb bass to catch and release, as we can.
Bass will eat the carp up to a certain size. Anglers and eagles/osprey have greatly reduced the adult carp numbers the last year. Are there other predators that could be stocked to help? Flathead was discussed, but long term worries of decimating goal fish populations...What am I missing as far as reducing reproduction/recruitment of carp? Bowfishing is not an option, Karen across the pond would have a fit! Draining and starting over is not an option either.
Will cooler water species such as pike or walleye survive a shallow pond in SE Wisconsin summer?
If you made it this far, thanks for your time, and any input you might have!
