Private Pond

[aqgolfer9]

Good morning guys

 

I was lucky enough to be exposed to some rental property a few months back with a cabin on 160 acres and a well-stocked pond. The fishing there was heavenly. Over a three day span, my co angler and I were able to catch and RELEASE about 180 LMB. It was unbelievable and we couldn't find a fish that we had caught twice! The odd part was, they all looked identical- they were all between 12-14" and somewhat slender. We fished the whole pond ( maybe 10 acres) and covered everything from the shallows, weed beds to the deep end which was about 16 feet deep with 4-5ft visibility. We used mostly Senkos which worked the best but also tried spinnerbaits, flukes, jigs and topwater poppers.

 

My question is where are the larger fish?! Is it possible that they are in such a stable environment with sufficient food supply that there really isn't a predator scenario going on and there won't be any lunkers?

[buzzed bait]

actually sounds to me like this place could benefit from taking some of those smaller size fish out of the population.  Part of managing a pond does involve taking fish out on occasion.  It's one of those things where overpopulation will stunt the growth of the other fish and diminish the food supply...

[aqgolfer9]

interesting- the owner did say we were welcome to keep and eat whatever we pleased, maybe that's what his intention was!

[buzzed bait]

it's a fine line to know when/how many to take out.... but just letting it go will only lead to the problem you're describing.  from time to time, my dad would call his uncle and tell him to bring a friend and a bucket to our pond.  These two old guys would sit out there catch a few, have the time of their lives and then take them home to fry up.....  Everybody was a winner because my dad really just wanted them to pull a few smaller ones from the pond to make it a better habitat for the bigger ones in there.

it's crazy, but proper maintenance of a pond is far more labor intensive than one would imagine!!

[fishballer06]

Our local sportsmans club has the same issue. It's about a 6 acre pond that is loaded with bass. It's very easy to catch 25+ fish in a few hours. However all the fish are 10-14" and are fairly slim. Need to keep a few so you can get some bigger fish in there and more forage fish. 

[aqgolfer9]

^{So its safe to say that there probably aren't many lunkers to go chasing?}

[buzzed bait]

i wouldn't totally count any lunkers out....  there's likely one mama in there.  but to get through all those dinks and start finding any quality fish, someone will likely have to start taking a couple fish out of there...

[roadwarrior]

With the owners permission you should kill every fish you catch.

[ABW]

It's time for a fish fry..

[aqgolfer9]

these bass were nearly too thin to even efficiently fillet, ESPECIALLY by an amateur like myself.

[roadwarrior]

Eat them yourself, give them away or leave them somewhere around the pond that is "out of the way". 

The fish will be gone by morning, nothing is actually wasted.

 

I think it was Ray Scott that made this comment (paraphrased) about thining an overpopulated pond: Take out what you

think is half of the fish, then take out that many more! You may have to do this over again for the next several years. You

really need to get other guys involved.

[buzzed bait]

were it me, i might try to think of or find some family struggling much more than you are and ask if they'd be interested in some fish.... they just have to clean and cook and you supply them with as much as they can eat.  so many people (mostly children) go to bed hungry every night i have no doubt that someone nearby could benefit from some food.... 

 

personally, i think if you start pulling fish out of someone else's pond and start littering the property with dead fish, you will lose said fishing spot.  they obviously didn't understand the whole pond management to begin with and a "fishkill" likely wouldn't go over or make a ton of sense to them.... just my thoughts.

[aqgolfer9]

I have come to know the property owner and I think next time we speak, I will carefully bring up the situation. Is it safe to say that the pond ecosystem isn't likely to thrive in this current predictament or is that a stretch of the truth?  He has spent thousands on stocking that beauty and I am sure he would be upset if things were to fail.

[buzzed bait]

i think it would just be safe to say that based on the numbers and size you're seeing it may be that his pond is overpopulated and stunting the growth.  if he seems to run with that thought, then you can interject with the need to weed out the smaller fish starting now and for a while until the sizes increase and healthy sized bass are becoming more of the norm.

[Mass Bassin']

I don't mean to be harsh but I agree with Roadworrior, I am the last  person who wants to kill bass but sometimes it is for the better.

[Mass Bassin']

bring the dead fish to a homeless shelter that way someone can benefit and the fish wont go to waist. BTW where is this pond anyway  

[HoosierHawgs]

actually sounds to me like this place could benefit from taking some of those smaller size fish out of the population. Part of managing a pond does involve taking fish out on occasion. It's one of those things where overpopulation will stunt the growth of the other fish and diminish the food supply...

X2