How many bass can live in smaller lakes/ponds?

[TriStateBassin106]

The title really says it all, This question always intrigued me, so far this year at both my ponds near me I've caught fish in the triple digits of various sizes. these ponds aren't very big. Maybe a bit bigger than 2 acres probably 1 and 1/2 if we want to be conservative, Now both these ponds are Creek fed and have fountains in the middle, there's a big population of baitfish (shiners alewifes bluegill) in there which I'm guessing the bass keep in check. Do the bass breed like crazy in ponds or am I just catching the same fish over and over lol. 

[looking45]

I doubt a 2 acre pond is capable of supporting 100 bass, plus all the baitfish, but obviously I can be wrong. One way to find out is to tag the fish so you'll know if you're catching them over and over

[slonezp]

How much replenishable food is there would be the determining factor

[DomQ]

I bet its more then 1!

[king fisher]

I will volunteer to catch and tag bass for a bass population survey.  What tackle do I need to bring?

[Team9nine]

It depends, because there are so many variables at play. A study here in Indiana of ponds showed that the range was 100-700 pounds of fish per acre. The "average" across those ponds was 320 pounds of fish per acre, consisting of 70% bluegills, 11% bass, and 19% miscellaneous fish. That 11% translates to about 36 pounds of bass per acre. The variability is that that 36 pounds could be 75-100 little dinks less than half a pound each, or it could be a dozen 3 pound bass. 

[lynxcat]

No idea but I think my local ponds are packed full. Tons of dinks but I recently caught a 6lb and 4.5lb in back to back days. I see very few bluegill and hundreds of thousands of baitfish, so maybe that adjusts the numbers. 

[soflabasser]

I have fished ponds less than 1 acre that where loaded with bass up to 8 pounds or so. Average size bass in these ponds is 1-3 pounds. What is most important is how much bait fish are in the pond for the bass to eat and if people release the big bass so they can continue growing. 

[TriStateBassin106]

1 hour ago, lynxcat said:

No idea but I think my local ponds are packed full. Tons of dinks but I recently caught a 6lb and 4.5lb in back to back days. I see very few bluegill and hundreds of thousands of baitfish, so maybe that adjusts the numbers. 

My ponds are loaded with fish in the 14inch range like this one, average fish usually weighs over a 1lb, definitely at least over 200+ fish in the ponds plus any fish fry from the spawn means there's a big supply of baitfish and fresh water fed from creeks.