Lack Of Forage And Pond Stability?

[Joedodge]

So we have a small community center pond that fwc ( florida wildlife) stocked with bass sub adults and blue Gil. They stock 835 bass total of 35 pounds. This was on the 2013-2014 report. Me and my son fish there a good bit since it's easy for the lil guy and a fun place to fish. But I've only ever caught 6 inch to 14 inch 1 pound fish in there. And we never see any blue Gil or catch any. Only the small tail biters and the 1 pound fish. Will this type of pond survive? Seems like the small bass will just get eaten and thep ons will never flourish.

[everythingthatswims]

I have fished a pond like this, the owners don't know a thing about fish, they had a brand new pond and stocked bass, catfish, and HYBRID (sterile!) bluegill. So there is no forage, I don't know how regular bluegill or sunfish haven't made it in but they haven't. 

 

The pond is a blast to fish though, tons of 10-14" bass and they will bite anything! Also, the hybrid bluegill are big enough that we have caught some on weightless super flukes on a 3/0 EWG hook. The bass are so hungry that sometimes when you release them, if you cast to the again, they will bite.

[Joedodge]

That's this place lol. Local community center that they stocked with the state. You throw a stick bait in there and it's on you can't go there any kinda weather and not get a few bites if not a few fish

[Penguino]

So we have a small community center pond that fwc ( florida wildlife) stocked with bass sub adults and blue Gil. They stock 835 bass total of 35 pounds. This was on the 2013-2014 report. Me and my son fish there a good bit since it's easy for the lil guy and a fun place to fish. But I've only ever caught 6 inch to 14 inch 1 pound fish in there. And we never see any blue Gil or catch any. Only the small tail biters and the 1 pound fish. Will this type of pond survive? Seems like the small bass will just get eaten and thep ons will never flourish.

Haha yeah I have a pond exactly like this in jersey. So this pond was created two years ago, and they only stocked a few hundred bass and a ton of bluegill. After fishing it for a year, I have to say that I catch a lot of the same bass many times. Though they are all 1-2 pound dinks, it's pretty fun as you know that you will always manage to catch a bass. But, you have to vary up your lure selection a little bit. After encountering the same lure multiple times, bass get smart, and won't bite any more. In small manmade ponds like these, the key to catching fish is to diversify your lure selection.

[lmbfisherman]

I have a community pond like this, but this pond has had bass for a long time.  I've never caught a bass over 3 lbs in this pond.  Most of the fish you catch are around 1-2 lbs.  There was a fish kill due to bacteria about 4 years ago, basically destroyed the perch/sunfish population.  It helped that it killed some of the bigger guys, but I don't see many panfish at all.  Our local natural resources do stock the pond with brown trout every year, but I don't think enough survive during the course of the summer to sustain a population or there is much competition the bass eat up all the trout fingerlings. They stock it yearly as they have a kids derby.

 

This pond is so pressured that a finesse approach is best.  I catch numbers drop shots, split show and jigs.  They don't see this much from the average angler.  Regularly I can catch 10 in a hour, I usually go here to try out new lures or to practice my jig fishing to hone my skills for the season. 

[Ozark_Basser]

How old was the pond before they stocked it? Where I live, you can't not find a pond jammed packed full of small minnows. They are just hard to see. I ran a seine net through a little cow turd pond one time and it was LOADED with minnows. I'm sure Florida is no different, but I guess it just depends on the body of water.

[gulfcaptain]

It will take a few years for it to balance.  They should have planted forage, then bluegill, then bass only after the bluegill started spawning.  Hence the food chain. Have a small pond close to my home, lots of small fish, used to have a ton of bluegill.  Now you see no bluegill, no baitfish, most only catch small bass between 10-12", but there are larger fish in there and surviving quite nicely.  But it had to balance itself out.

[Joedodge]

Oh wow awesome guys. Glad to hear that it should eventually balance out. I mean it's full of the typical pond minows. But I never saw any real hardy forage for the bass. It's a healthy lil pond tho

[BassObsessed]

It sounds like a private 10 acre pond I fish locally. The pond has been established since the 80's and still only has bass in the 1- 1.5lb range. They hit anything basically. I have caught bluegill in there bigger than 90% of the bass Iv'e ever caught and that's thousands of bass. It's crystal clear and has depths of 28ft. With underwater video you can read the label on the crankbait in the fishes mouth in 8 fow. I have tons of video if anyone ever wanted to check it out.

[livetofish28]

It sounds like a private 10 acre pond I fish locally. The pond has been established since the 80's and still only has bass in the 1- 1.5lb range. They hit anything basically. I have caught bluegill in there bigger than 90% of the bass Iv'e ever caught and that's thousands of bass. It's crystal clear and has depths of 28ft. With underwater video you can read the label on the crankbait in the fishes mouth in 8 fow. I have tons of video if anyone ever wanted to check it out.

I would be interested in checking it out lol 

 

   tight lines 

 

       Andrew

[BassObsessed]

I would be interested in checking it out lol 

 

   tight lines 

 

       Andrew

Hey man, how's it going? Tell your father thanks again for taking me out on his boat when I was in your town.

[BassObsessed]

I don't want to hijack the thread with posting my video unless the OP doesn't mind.

[Joedodge]

Hell no post it up!!!i wana see!

[Paul Roberts]

Will this type of pond survive?

Unless it is very shallow and receives over-nutrified run-off (say from lawn or agricultural fertilizers or raw sewage) and gets really hot in summer, then Yes, it will "survive" -no fish kills that is. But survive and thrive are two different things. My guess is you are wondering if it will thrive.

 

Seems like the small bass will just get eaten and thep ons will never flourish.

Many ponds survive with bass only -the primary forage being small bass, but growth is dependent on bass hatch success. What allows small prey fishes like bass and bluegill to survive (beyond whims of weather) is cover. If there is no cover whatsoever -like a swimming pool- then the bass may eat themselves out of house and home.

 

If the pond is not spanking new, there may be some bigger bass too. A pond I fished years ago was known as 'dink pond' by local kids. When we started fishing it gave up hordes of 8-10"ers, but also a 4, 5-1/4, 6, and 7lber. Lots of ponds show gaps in the size structure, or commonly, a wall. Ponds are less apt to "balance" out simply bc they are small and easily impacted -less "stable"; Lotsa work and know-how is often required by pond managers to keep them consistently producing quality fish. But most of us can't actively manage our fishing waters. And state fisheries people can't be everywhere. We anglers take what nature dishes out. Many of the ponds I follow run in boom-n-bust cycles dependent on weather (winterkills being a big player) and hatch success. I see a good hatch year I follow the pond, tracking growth to see what happens. I try to get a bead on which ponds are in place for a boom and which ones have been busted (and set up for a coming boom).

 

While I'm reminiscing, there was another pond... A new pond, nearly a swimming pool with precious little cover. It was stocked with golden shiners then LM. The shiners got a head start and there was a good population of very large ones (for NY GSers) -up to a foot long. Those shiners spawned in groups forming "daisy-chains" -like tarpon- which required an accurate cast with a tiny jig on UL to the edge of the chain to get a take. It sure was fun. But the bass were all little, recently stocked, and I moved away before I got to see what happened when the bass got big enough to start into those larger shiners. Always wondered what happened there. Pond cover complexity didn't bode well beyond the initial gorging that probably happened, but I was long gone by then. Still wonder about it.

[hoosierhawghunter]

If you're fishing a pond that was built in the 80s. WITH PERMISSION! You need to remove about 350 to 400 of the dinks to get it healthy again.