Small bass pond

[SCkayakfisher]

At one of my old hunt clubs there is a nice sized pond I like to fish at from my kayak, but i have a problem... All the fish are dinks! The largest one I've pulled out was only like 15in! There are plenty of bass to be caught but are just tiny. My guess is that the bass are over populated and there aren't enough bluegill in the pond. There are some weeds, and the pond gets about 15-20 feet deep on the dam side. No pickerel either, just bass and bream. Any guesses on this problem? Thanks

[jjconnaire]

I have a pond just like that. It is rite next to (but at a much higher elevation) a very well respected smallmouth and LMB fishery that has alewives and other baitfish. I have caught a 1-1.5lbs bass but not often. Mostly Dinks. I did see a 5lb or so on a bed but that was only once. I am thinking that food is probably the problem. I have never seen alewives nor any other baitfish. Just gills

[Raul]

Sounds like an overpopulated pond, there are like 5 good sized fish and all the rest is dinks.

Since transporting live fish is ilegal pretty much in alll the US:

Solution-----> Dinks, meet Mrs. Frying Pan.

In my neck of the woods we used to pull everything we could and distribute them in other ponds and lakes.

 

[the reel ess]

3 hours ago, SCkayakfisher said:

At one of my old hunt clubs there is a nice sized pond I like to fish at from my kayak, but i have a problem... All the fish are dinks! The largest one I've pulled out was only like 15in! There are plenty of bass to be caught but are just tiny. My guess is that the bass are over populated and there aren't enough bluegill in the pond. There are some weeds, and the pond gets about 15-20 feet deep on the dam side. No pickerel either, just bass and bream. Any guesses on this problem? Thanks

Bingo! Or the bluegill are so large the bass can't eat them and they compete for limited prey. Probably a combination. You and all your buddies need to go catch as many as you can of everything in the pond and keep them.

This happens in most small ponds.

[SCkayakfisher]

Well I hardly see any bluegill to begin with! And the ones that I do see are small. Thanks for the input. 

[jr231]

Yes but do you fish for the bluegill ? I posted a similar thread called "help..my pond!" And all answers pointed to the same thing..  over population.. I'd try fishing for the gills and see what happens . Mine have HUGE bluegill... I posted a pic . It's easily over 10 inches and clearly over a pound. I think they are hybrids tho.

Anyway. Removing some of the bass should help. There are plenty of things for bass to feed on to keep them alive in a small pond... bugs, frogs, and the years fry.. but in order for them to flourish there HAS to be PLENTY of food. The dinks WILL survive but will never get that fat belly you're looking for. Until there is adequate prey for all the predators. So the choices are simple. Remove quite a few bass.. or continue to catch dinks. Also, taking a Seine to the creek and getting a bunch of chub minnows and craw dads would do the pond some good. ! Just a thought. 

I harvested 15 bass from my small pond +1 1/2 acres). All under 13 inches. And still continue to catch bass when I go. I also removed some of the larger gills. But only a few. I will have to wait for my results and continue to harvest .

If it is not your pond consult the owner and see how he/she feels about it.  

*Try catching a 4inch bluegill and free line it one day. If there are any big ones in there. I promise she can't resist. And should be very easy to locate in a small pond. 

[HeavyDluxe]

Sometimes catch-and-release isn't the best thing for the health of a body of water (especially if sporting purposes are in view). 

Sometimes catch-and-eat is.

[timsford]

Try fishing some bigger stuff like bigger profile jigs and worms and swimbaits.  Jigs with a large profile and swimbaits that imitate bluegill like the mattlures gills catch most of my big bass in ponds.  I've fished ponds with regular lures and catch a LOT of fish on regular lures and rarely one over 15 inches and go back to the same pond and only fish mop jigs with beaver trailers and bluegill swimbaits the size of your hand and catch 2-3 or more over 5 lbs.  I'd definitely try those and maybe 10 inch worms before I was sure there weren't any big ones

[Hog Basser]

Everything you need to know can be found in articles in this section: http://www.bassresource.com/lake-management/ 

You definitely need to start harvesting the dinks.  When you think you've harvested enough, do it some more.  Once you get the population down as far as you can and there's less competition, then you can think about adding more forage fish.  If you are committed to making this a trophy bass pond, I would consult a biologist and put together a plan.  

[Red Bear]

if the bluegill arent some sterile engineered ones and can reproduce then i dont see how removing any of them will help as some have suggested. if anything you remove the bluegill and youre removing future food from the bass. the bluegill spawning is gonna produce a majority of the basses diet in bluegill/bass only ponds. you should pull out as many small bass as you can. when you stop catching the small bass with such frequency then stop removing them. youre gonna have to wait to see the results though, it wont be immediate.

[SCkayakfisher]

Thanks for all the input! I'm not worried about this being a trophy bass pond just a place to have fun and catch fish, which I do but big bass are even more fun! I will try some big baits next time I go. I will also try for some big gills next time I go. I have a gut feeling that the big'ins (if there are any) could be deep because this is an abnormally deep pond and I focus solely on the laydowns. Thanks again all