How do I get fatter bass?

[ArizonaFishing]

I have a pond I recently inherited. It is the size of a football field. Has a rocky bottom, lots of twists and turns, a few old trees hanging in the middle. As well as bushes with no leaves all around the pond interior. Water is fairly clear. I fished the pond. Caught a lot of bass. I noticed two things... one, the smaller bass <1# look healthy, maybe a little skinny. 2, the larger bass >2# have a skinny belly and big head. I caught a 4lber that had the head of a 8# fish. My question is, how do I make my larger LMB fatter? The pond can not be reached by auto or 4wheeler. 

[Dom Hendricks]

Are there bream in the pond now?  Sounds like there is good structure, but nothing for them to eat. 

[A-Jay]

 

 Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~

 

 Some useful info from the BR articles section right here ~ https://www.bassresource.com/lake-management/

 

 And some right here: 

The goal of catching a 10 lb Bass has long been the dream of many an angler. Having a pond on your own property with this capability would be even more amazing. It can be done, but it is going to take some work on your part—and a little patience. The following are 6 steps to help you turn your private lake into a trophy Bass fishery.

1. Genetics

A native Largemouth Bass has the ability to reach sizes of 6-8 lbs., and occasionally larger. That is a fine size Bass, but if you’re looking for a trophy, stocking Bass with ideal genetics that are more likely to grow to a larger size may be the right option for management plan. Stocking Florida-strain Largemouth Bass increases your potential for growing that monster of a lifetime. 

2. Habitat

Habitat is an often over-looked management aspect intrinsic to growing trophy Bass. The thought of not wanting to get your lure hung-up on that downed tree can’t be your reasoning for eliminating this key component. For example, a typical Bass lake should have 10-15% of total surface acreage with some form of habitat. Bass hold tight to cover, as they prefer to ambush their prey. This prevents them from having to chase prey as far, which conserves energy and allows them to keep weight and apply energy towards growth. Habitat also provides cover for smaller forage fish, like Bluegill, which helps the population to grow and develop, which, in turn, increases prey density—a must have management result for any serious trophy Bass manager. The more diverse the habitat, the better off you will be during seasonal changes. Habitat can be both natural and artificial. Natural habitat includes hardwoods, cedars, and rock piles. 

3. Feeding Program

Bluegill are the primary forage fish for Bass. Keep in mind that it takes approximately 10 lbs of forage to add 1 lb on a Bass—give or take some environmental factors. Having large enough broodstock of Bluegill that spawn to replenish forage stocks is vital to the long-term success of the lake and your trophy Bass fishery. Broodstock are fish that are too large for most predatory fish to consume, thus allowing an increased number of individuals to successfully spawn seasonally. The result is more prey per surface acre. Beginning a feeding program will help supplement the diet of Bluegill to produce a more robust class of broodstock. Bass will not typically utilize pelleted feed directly, but they will reap the benefits of a larger population of Bluegill.

4. Supplemental Stockings

Variety is the spice of life. Bluegill are the primary food source for Bass in most ponds and small lakes, but they cannot be the only food source if you are looking to grow 10 lbers’. Supplemental stocking of forage fish is necessary to increase prey diversity and density—remember: the goal is fat, lazy Bass that don’t have to chase after prey. Stocking supplemental forage increases the amount of prey available for consumption within the system. Different types of supplemental stocking species are Golden Shiners, Threadfin Shad, Crawfish, Gizzard Shad, Mozambique Tilapia, and Rainbow Trout—just to name a few. Tilapia have added benefit to your fishery in that they will also help control any filamentous algae problems your lake may have. Rainbow Trout are high in protein content and represent substantial meals for hungry Bass looking to put on weight. 

5. Selective Harvest

Complete catch and release fishing is a common and disastrous mentality that has somehow managed to proliferate among pond owners. The basic premise is that releasing a Bass will result in a larger fish, at a later date. There is some truth to this, but it fails to take into account reproduction. Each season more and more mouths are added to the predatory population. There is only so much space and so many forage opportunities to go around. So, harvest Bass to keep your intra-species (among Bass) competition to a minimum. Harvesting out the mid-range Bass reduces competition and helps keep forage species abundant. 

6. Water Quality/Fertilization

Regular water sampling and reporting can help avoid potential harm to your fishery. Assessing both pH and alkalinity may help you to be able to determine any environmental deficits that could constrain growth. Water clarity is another important component to consider for optimization of feeding activity among Bass. The murkier the water, the harder it is for Bass to feed. On the flip side, if the water is extremely clear, prey can see the Bass coming from a greater distance, which results in greater energy expenditure for successful capture of prey. Ideal water clarity is between two to three feet. Have turbidity issues? Gypsum is a popular option to help clear a pond with suspended particles. Fertilization is another key component to use with a clear pond. Fertilization will allow your lake to produce up to four times as many pounds of fish per acre by increasing the amount of zooplankton and other primary consumers that form the base of the food chain within a lake ecosystem. 

   Producing a trophy Bass fishery won’t happen by simply stocking a few fish and then coming back in a year looking to catch some monsters. You need to create the right environment for the fish to thrive and monitor the progress from season to season, adjusting as needed along the way.  Developing a lake maintenance plan that is right for you and manage the process to ensure that the correct steps are taken will allow you more time on the water fishing for that trophy Bass you’ve always dreamt of catching.

Read more here ~ http://www.pondking.com/raising-trophy-bass/

Good Luck

A-Jay

[WRB]

Not enough prey for the predator bass and/or too many bass per acre of carrying capacity. You can't resolve the problem by yourself unless you own the pond.

The short answer is fish a different pond.

Tom

[Paul Roberts]

Feed 'em -a LOT! No joke.

[Glaucus]

36 minutes ago, WRB said:

Not enough prey for the predator bass and/or too many bass per acre of carrying capacity. You can't resolve the problem by yourself unless you own the pond.

The short answer is fish a different pond.

Tom

He said he inherited it in his first sentence.

[ArizonaFishing]

There are few bait fish in the pond. About 5 weeks ago I saw a large school of 1 inch fish swimming terrified near the shore. They have since vanished. I can see a few little bream from time to time jumping out of the water trying to escape a hungry bass. So I'm wondering if something could be keeping them from getting fat? I have not seen any dead fish since I got the pond. No birds really. Only a few here and there. The pond about a mile away has an otter. Fishing there has just died out completely. 

[WRB]

5 hours ago, Glaucus said:

He said he inherited it in his first sentence.

If he owns the pond he has resources to rejuvenate it. First is contact The Pond Boss, Bob Lusk. Second is have a DNR survey elecrto shock if they can get the equipment in the remote location.

The professionals know what they are doing.

Tom

[Bluebasser86]

Contact your state and see if they will come sample it. Kansas does it for free if you sign up for the walk in fishing program, where you pond basically becomes public for that year, but they also will stock it and manage it as needed for the year it's signed up. Your pond probably needs bass removed and baitfish added, but to what degree would be better for a professional to decide. You risk causing further problems trying to guess and do it yourself. 

[soflabasser]

Make sure the bass are well fed and there's not too many bass in the pond.

[jiggerpole]

1. Catch at least 100 bass and weigh every single one. Then average them out. Spots and Largemouth. 

2. Go bream fishing and see if you can catch the big bream that are most likely in the pond.

3. Look for small bream as well. between two to 4 inches in size. Odds are you don't have very many.

4. Check your P.H. and see if it needs lime but first determine if you have a weed problem. Liming a lake before getting weeds under control can cause them to explode.

5. Look for other Forage fish around the banks, Crayfish, Frogs, Small turtles, Mussel etc.

6. If you determine you have Skinny bass, Large Bluegill, and no small bluegills by the hundreds, poor P.H. and or weed problem then.

1. Kill Bass. Especially Spots. Lots of them.

2. Control your weed problem.

3. Lime properly

4. Fertilize properly

5. Watch your lake rebound. 

P.S. Don't get hung up on Genetics. Unless you plan to poison every fish in the lake and start from scratch you have no way of knowing the growth potential of bass that are already in this lake. It is a lot of work doing it yourself or a lot of money starting from scratch. Call your Local Fisheries Biologist. You may get free help from them and it would be well worth it. Good Luck.

 

[Boomstick]

I would suggest calling in a professional, or at least reading books about pond management. It may not be quite rocket science, but it's also no walk in the park either. You may find several things, for example perhaps the pond was overstocked with bass, they ate all the bluegills except the very large ones and now live by waiting to grow large enough to eat the other bass. Maybe you need to keep a few of the smaller sized bass you get, which will fatten up the larger ones. It could be a lot of things. Of course, if you think you properly identified the problem but end up being wrong, then you risk making things worse for yourself.

[ArizonaFishing]

All great information. Thank you. Since the fish seem to be not dead at this point, I'm going to catch and weigh the fish I can. I found a scale that tells me basically what the fish should weigh at a certain length. I have a second pond that has 0 fish in it atm. I'm may try transfering bream and see if I can get the populations up in there. If I can sustain a healthy bream pop, I may transfer some of the smaller bass and other species. caught last night. Caught on line and tackle. This fish should have been well over 3lbs. But she only weighed 2.1. As soon as I figure out how to upload images I'll post it up

[Troy85]

Sounds like a job for the Fish Whisperer.

 

 

 

[the reel ess]

Remove all bass you can catch except for the largest and feed the bream regularly in the spring/summer so they'll make more babies to eat. That's really about all you can do on your own. Beyond that, contact a pond management specialist. Every pond is different. They could have ideas no one here has.

 

To tell you the truth, having 2-3 lb bass in a pond is not that bad. I go to one that has very few over a pound. Probably the biggest bass I've caught there in a decade was 2 lb. and we keep them all. Yours may not be out of balance as badly as you think.