10 acre pond w/ lots of small fish

[Jeff R.]

I got permission to fish a 10 acre pond this year which has really been nice for a change of scenery and trying different techniques. I think I have caught bass now on every technique there is except carolina rigging. Anyway, the majority of the bass are in the 10 to 12 inch range with 4 pounds being the biggest I have caught out of there so far....oh yeah besides the 9.1 pound carp last weekend (talk about a blast)! There have been some 2 pounders (bass) caught as well but 90 percent of what we catch are the short ones. The owner of the pond wants us to keep everything we catch as he feels there are too many fish in there and he uses the pond for waverunners and swimming only, hardly anyone else fishes it, especially from a boat. There seem to be quite a few bluegill in there and I think maybe some shad also. Would it help the pond out if I were to take out some of the smaller bass? I really hate to do it but if it will help in the long run with maybe catching some bigger fish than I would do it. From what I have read it seems like I should get some out but I wanted to hear from you guys on this. Thanks.

 

[Donnie Matney]

I just built an 1 acre pond so I have been studying up on keeping it in balance. I have read in several places that for every bass you take out you need to remove 30-40 bluegill. Just trying to give you a heads up in case you want to keep things in balace and practice some QBM (Quality Bass Management)



Donnie

 

[Jeff R.]

So too many bluegill is a bad thing too? I assumed that with less smaller bass there would be more bluegill for the other bass to eat to get bigger.

 

[mike chip]

I once watched a ray scott tournament at his pond on tv. The rules were simple, any bass under 12 inches had to be kept. no fish over 12 were allowed to be weighed. they had 30 to 50 fish per boat and had a big cookout. too many small fish equates to not enough forage to get big, remove the small bass and they will get big, As for bluegill, it takes 3 to 4 years to become mature dont take too many out.

mike

 

[Texas Transplant]

I have some relatives with a nice 'pond' on their property in Alabama. It's managed, fertilized and well stocked. They take all the smaller bass they catch and either eat them or simply put them on the bank for the 'varmits' to dispose of. Keeps a good population of healthier bass in the pond.



Tex

 

[Steve Hutson]

I know that this is "apples and oranges", but my father in law has two ponds on his property. Both are stocked with L/M Bass, Bluegill and Catfish.



Any way, the Bluegill population got way out of whack a couple of years ago. His answer, for one long weekend we caught as many 'gills as we could. The bigger ones got to meet Mr. Cornmill and Mr. Skillet. The smaller ones got to meet Mr. Bird and any other wild animal that was hungry. I know it sounds pretty brutle and I guess it was, but it worked. Now the 'gills are bigger and healthier, the Bass even seem bigger and healthier.



Steve

 

[Texas Transplant]

On another note, since Steve mentioned it.



I've read in several places, that if you want your pond to have a healthy LM Bass population, do not stock catfish for any reason.



Tex

 

[Rusty C.]

Many great replies here. Here you go.



I am willing to bet there is a lot of huge bluegill in the lake, right? This is the easiest sign of stunted growth. Here is what you do. Encourage the pond owner to let the local boy scouts come out with a bucket of crickets and raid the lake of the bluegill. Keep all decent eating size bluegill and through the pair of eyes back. Unfortunetley, like some others stated, a lot of smaller bass need to come out as well. All of the bass are competing for the same amount of food. If 100 men approx. the same age, weight, height, build, etc. ate exactly the same amount of food everyday, they would be pretty much all be the same size as time goes on. Generally, larger people eat more than smaller people. You get the point......

It would be a great idea to take a few dozen crappie minnows there as well and make sure there is absolutely no crappie in the lake. If so, take them ALL out!!! Crappie will ruin a bass pond quicker than anything. They reproduce at a extremely fast rate and they are eating the small fish your bass need to eat to grow. Bluegill tend to be less of a meat-eater and more of bug and mosquito eaters.



I can go in further detail if you need.



Hope this helps.



Rusty

 

[Jeff R.]

Thanks for all of your replies. Rusty, I have seen quite a few bluegill and caught quite a few but not really any "big" ones, bigger than the average size anyway. As much as I hate to I will try to get out about 50 or so smaller 12" bass but am not sure if I should do anything with the bluegill or not. I hate to take out bluegill not knowing what the population is and as far as crappie go, there are no crappie in there.

 

[Geo F]

Got to be honest here...I don't think one man can do what is needed in a 10 acre pond. Its just too many fish.



I have a 2 acre pond and I cannot dent the dang bluegill.



geo

 

[Texas Transplant]

If you are basically only catching/seeing smaller sized bluegill - that should be a clue. They are 'stunted' and need cleaning out. Stunted size virtually always means overpopulation.



The other suggestion. Get yourself a home made 'telephone fishing outfit'. Go to one end/area of the pond, and call a few up. You will see pretty quickly, what the general size of the fish are. Check in 2-3 different areas.



You will probably be 'shocked' by the information that you get.



Tex

 

[Jeff R.]

OK....I'm dying to know, how do I build my own shocker?? I have thought so many times that would be the ultimate way of knowing what's in there but I have no clue how to do it. I have tried researching on the internet but have came up with nothing. I'm gettin' fired up now!!!!!!!!

 

[Rusty C.]

I don't know what state your in, but here in Georgia, our state Department of Natural Resources came out to my pond and shocked my lake to find out what was in there and find out the size of the fish. They had originally told me to kill the lake and start over. When I refused that option after releasing several bass into my pond over 8 lbs including two 10 pounders, they brought out the shock unit to see what was in the lake and the size of the fish.

After getting a rough estimate of what I needed to do to balance my pond, they put me on a list that gives me free fish stocking every year with the right balance of fish. For the past three years, I have not had to pay to stock my pond. Yeaaaaaah!!



Your state might have a similiar program. It feels good to get something back out of my tax dollars like this!



If your state does have a program like this, don't let them pour the chemicals in your pond to kill the lake. Maybe, I have a soft spot for all animals, but I just see it as a waste. This should definetely be a last resort. I would rather invite my whole church over for a fishing rodeo or something like that. At least the fish would be harvested instead of wasted and discarded. Take this as an opportunity to fill your deep freezer!



Take care

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

In Virginia if you let the State stock your pond or lake, you have to let the public fish it.



TOXIC