Pond Rejuvenation Update #1

[GAMEOVER]

Well I made a post about a week back or so saying about how a pond directly out my backdoor in my apartment was cleaned out. Since  then you see no people fishing it at all. Youd only see about 3 people who fished it and me being the only one who did daily. Well.. since the story I shared with you guys I have been driving a minute away in each direction to two other honey holes near by that no one fishes in. With it being summer and all it isnt as easy to catch them lunkers and restore my honey hole back to its original state and/or beyond. Since the post I am happy to say 5 Largemouth Bass all weighing in over 4lbs with the biggest being a touch away from 6 and 1/2 lbs. I have also been catching the baby Largemouth as well to introduce them to their new home while young, I have caught 23 Largemouth Bass rangeing from 3-6 inches in length. All these fish have been released under the night sky where not a soul but mine was outside. My latest addition came tonight it was a 4lb (dead even) Largemouth Bass and I just released it before I sat down to type this. It was caught on a new bait for me, the YUM 5" Cotton Candy grub (worm) I used just a standard rig nothing special with a split shot.

Here is a diagram for you guys to picture (if you want) this pond that I am restoring

._._._._._._._._.

.l      _____      l                                      Legend

.l     l.        .l     l.                                     . and =  = Apartments

.l     l.        .l     l.                                     *= My Apartment  

.l     l.        .l     l.                                     l's and _'s= Shorelines of Pond

.l__  l.        .l  __l.          

========*==

Sorry about the diagram tried my best.

[Mattlures]

I hope those bass have something to eat. I have actualy been paid to stock ponds and the absolute most important thing is to get a forage bass started before you put bass in. I would spend monthes catching bluegill and green sunfish. I would let them spawn once scinse they were adults when stocked. Then I would put in the bass. I never stocked little ones though. I started at 3lbs and up. They breed like **** roaches. I told the owners to remove any small bass they caught. The reason is. I was putting in good fish and you can never catch all the small bass so some get to grow big. Less bass + lots of bluegills = Big Bass. Sounds like you got a pretty cool thing going. It does break your heart when you see somebody keep a big fish from "your" pond.

[GAMEOVER]

This pond is loaded with forage, bluegill and sunfish roam all along the shore line no matter where you look into the water from any point on land.

[Mattlures]

I am jelous! I wish I had my own pond! I always thought it would be cool to tag the bass I stocked to check their growth.

[GAMEOVER]

I am jelous! I wish I had my own pond! I always thought it would be cool to tag the bass I stocked to check their growth.

Ill be doing that next spring  ;D focusing on loading it up before this Michigan winter gets here.

[Bassassasin12]

I have a pond right behind my house and I am going to start catching some more bluegill and putting them in there. I have a feeling the nice bass in there already ate most of them because I just don't see as many these days.

[RockvilleMDAngler]

During the spawn this year I went to a local lake and caught 50 small (all under 10 inches) bass over three days and put them in a cooler full of water and then put them in my neighborhood pond.  There are bluegill all over that pond but since the first stockings I have not been able to catch a single bass from the pond.  I think that the pond is relatively shallow, it is about 2 acres and I bet it is 6 feet deep in the middle... would bigger bass survive?  The pond is in the DC area where we have hot summers and cold winters so I think the pond isn't deep enough but I am still willing to stock it.

[rocknfish9001]

rockvilleMDangler- that pond is plenty big and deep enough. I fish a 4-5 acre pond that maxes out around 6 feet that holds some real lunkers. Also, my neighbor stocked his pond, which is actually less than 2 acres, and about 5-6 feet deep. There are about 10 bass and tons of 'gills in there. Along with a pike, flathead, and a walleye. They all survived winter. An i live in michigan, so are winters are pretty cold.

[stratoscaster]

Be aware of local laws.  Some of what I'm reading here may be illegal.

[GAMEOVER]

Well there are no laws on these bodies of water in the apartments im in. They are man made 20 year old ponds. Hardly anyone fishes here and the DNR dont even list or bother with honey holes like this. In a way its good they dont because then itd be listed and youd see more people but then in away its not because you have to find all the other honey holes in your state on your own.

These small bodies of water are notorious for lunkers because they roam and grow freely as well as go undetected by their biggest predator, us humans.

I always catch and release though.. Just because most dont it seems, it isnt an excuse for everyone to do it. Bass isnt the worst tasteing fish but its no where near that of say Perch, Trout, or Walleye. So people who catch and keep Bass kinda get on my nerves when they can go catch some of the same great tasting species I mentioned above in the very same body of water. Oh well though, to each their own. Wish me luck on my honey hole project.

BTW, this really is an effortlessly thing. I mean I drive to two other ponds that are a half mile away from me in each direction. I only drive because I carry a tank of water otherwise id walk. I wouldnt want to run half a mile with every fish I catch to throw it in. LOL, there is one guy here who fishes these other honey holes to. He just recently caught a 19 inch Largemouth and ran it back here. I am also making sure I am not taking too many from either pond because I do not want to damage them in anyway. From expierence though I know these places are stacked with Largemouth. This last 4lb I caught faught more then some of the 6 to 6 and a 1/2 lb Bass ive caught here. What a rush..

[RockvilleMDAngler]

Illegal or not if the bass can survive in this body of water I am stocking the bejezus out of it!  I never keep bass for any other reason so if the DNR has problems with my transporting bass to my pond where they can potentially thrive then they can sniff my farts.  There are plenty of people in my area who keep EVERY fish they catch so some guy transporting some small ones is no big deal especially since I am helping the bass population grow.  

[Bassassasin12]

just be careful transporting bass is known to cause diseases, that's why I don't do it much anymore.

[jomatty]

yeah  bassassin you are right.  there was a really good thread recently about transporting bass spreading disease.  a number of the bass, especially larger bass may not survive the ordeal, and the new location as well.  large bass have their forage spots and favorite haunts and often will be unable to adjust.  they may adjust fine, just someithing to be careful about.  if there is no bass left i suppose the spread of disease is not that big a deal but if it is just not as good as you want it to be i would be careful as it could introduce LMB virus.

anyways i hope it works out for you.  i had planned on trying to improve some ponds near my house but decided that it was too risky.  i hope all of your bass remain healthy and prosper although im my opinion you would be better off trying to stock them from a hatchery.

matt