Getting shad and perch put into community ponds

[basslover12345]

Can anyone here help me? I fish a few run off ponds by my house and the average bass isn't very big, my biggest from there is 3.25 pounds. There is really no forage accept for bluegill. I am trying to come up with a few good reasons/ideas to present to the Home owners commity. I am a boyscout and want to do some pond resteration projects for my eagle project

[ww2farmer]

Bluegills are enough. The probelm is probably too many bass. I would remove bass first, before I introduced a new species to a pond........I have seen that not work too well.

[Gangley]

Depending on the size of the waters that you fish, throwing additional shad or perch in there might not be the best idea.  If they dont have the necessary environment to thrive, they will starve and die-off eventually.  One of the things that you might could do is to check into water enrichment to get a healthy population of phytoplankoton and phytoplankton.  This will help establish a healthy ecosystem that allows the growth of all levels of the food chain which will in turn provide a better bass habitat.  A healthy ecosystem will provide a better long term solution for larger bass than to simply throw food at them that wont be around in the long run.

[JamesH]

You could try to get in contact with Michael Murphy. He is a pro angler with a degree in fisheries managment. He would be a great source to put you on the right track. He is a great guy that I am sure would be eager to help you out.

http://michaelmurphyfishing.com/

[bigredxlt]

removing dinks and releasing the fish 14-16 inches and over when fishing is a proven method to increase the quality of bass in a pond. Usually what happens is the food competition is too high so bass cant reach their full genetic growth potential.

I have a pond in my backyard that has the same problem, my goal this season is to toss all the dinks into the river beside the pond because I have been catching bass with huge heads the size of 5-6 lb largemouth, but their bodies are so emaciate they only weigh 2-4. I think in my case the pond has too many bass because when the river floods it dumps a ton of bass in the pond, and when the river recedes the fish are stuck there.

[Goose52]

You might browse some of the articles & info at:

On the BR site:  http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/about.html#fish

And a BR sponsor:  http://www.pondboss.com/

[SPEEDBEAD.]

You might browse some of the articles & info at:

On the BR site: http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/about.html#fish

And a BR sponsor: http://www.pondboss.com/

Bob Lusk knows his shat.  Very valuable resource.

[Nice_Bass]

Perhaps a better approach that would both benefit your lakes and not cost what a stocking would be is to looking to non point source pollution solutions to make your current lakes and species healthier.  With run off lakes, everythign that is collected is deposited in your lakes (all watersheds really).  Anyhow, depending on what your area is like, it can cause alge blooms from fertalizers of lawns/fields, pesticides ect.  Anyhow, just a thought. 

[WRB]

Bob Lusk is the best resource on this site in regards to your inquiry.

You could also earn your badge by researching what prey is actually in the ponds you are fishing.

Bass eat a wide variety of creatures during the life cycle and only target larger bait fish as adults. If you add bait fish that compete with the baby bass, then you compound the problem. Balance is the name of the game in a small ecosystem.

Try making up fish traps and crayfish (crawdad) traps, looking under logs and rocks for darner nymphs (dragon fly larvae), frogs, salamanders, worms, etc, Make up a list. Catch and examine the stomach contents of the bass. Try to determine the age of the bass. Lots of things you can do to earn that badge you want.

WRB

[bigredxlt]

Bob Lusk is the best resource on this site in regards to your inquiry.

You could also earn your badge by researching what prey is actually in the ponds you are fishing.

Bass eat a wide variety of creatures during the life cycle and only target larger bait fish as adults. If you add bait fish that compete with the baby bass, then you compound the problem. Balance is the name of the game in a small ecosystem.

Try making up fish traps and crayfish (crawdad) traps, looking under logs and rocks for darner nymphs (dragon fly larvae), frogs, salamanders, worms, etc, Make up a list. Catch and examine the stomach contents of the bass. Try to determine the age of the bass. Lots of things you can do to earn that badge you want.

WRB

He is not trying to earn a merit badge. This would be an eagle scout project so he has to do some kind of service project. So that research might help figure out what needs improvement but in end he is going need to actually do some type of improvement.

[WRB]

Bob Lusk is the best resource on this site in regards to your inquiry.

You could also earn your badge by researching what prey is actually in the ponds you are fishing.

Bass eat a wide variety of creatures during the life cycle and only target larger bait fish as adults. If you add bait fish that compete with the baby bass, then you compound the problem. Balance is the name of the game in a small ecosystem.

Try making up fish traps and crayfish (crawdad) traps, looking under logs and rocks for darner nymphs (dragon fly larvae), frogs, salamanders, worms, etc, Make up a list. Catch and examine the stomach contents of the bass. Try to determine the age of the bass. Lots of things you can do to earn that badge you want.

WRB

He is not trying to earn a merit badge. This would be an eagle scout project so he has to do some kind of service project. So that research might help figure out what needs improvement but in end he is going need to actually do some type of improvement.

OK, doing research is a learning process and studying the ponds predator prey base will lead to a plan to improve the pond through proper management. Does this meet the leadership service project requirement to become an Eagle Scout? Accept my apology for using the term badge and demeaning the achievement becoming an Eagle Scout.

[wisconsin heat]

i would really not add a species to any body of water...once upon a time someone thought that asian carp would help reduce algae in lakes... enough said

ofcourse asian carp were a species not native to america-but, basically same concept here, dont add a species to any body of water; if the pond is near a river, the river could flood, and boom new species in the river, possibly to take over a native species...

[basslover12345]

Here are the species I am considering stocking:

Fathead minnows

Yellow perch

Paper Shell crawfish

Black Crappie

I am considering planting these plants:

Hyacinths

Coontail

Milfoil

Here is the structure I plan on scattering across the pond:

Pea Gravel

Sawed Cedar limbs

Wooden Shipping pallets

Christmas trees

[ww2farmer]

I speak from experience here..............you go putting perch and crappie in that pond and your problems with stunted bass will get worse. Fatheads are more or less a snack, they will do no harm, don't expect much growth on the bass from them, they will get consumed fast, and you'll go broke trying to keep up with how much the bass can eat. I have no experience with crayfish stocking.

I would plant brush before I added any vegetation, Milfoil can get out of hand real fast, and then you'll have a mess.

Removing bass is a simple and easy way to start and try to turn things around, less bass=more food for the ones that are there=bigger bass. Is it fail proof.........no, but nothing is. Adding more fish to an already lean food chain is a recipe for disaster.

[bigredxlt]

Here are the species I am considering stocking:

Fathead minnows

Yellow perch

Paper Shell crawfish

Black Crappie

I am considering planting these plants:

Hyacinths

Coontail

Milfoil

Here is the structure I plan on scattering across the pond:

Pea Gravel

Sawed Cedar limbs

Wooden Shipping pallets

Christmas trees

Did you read all the responses that said do not introduce new species?

Also what you speak of is not considered structure it is cover. Stucture would be humps, dropoffs, creek bottoms, etc. you cant really add structure

[Quillback]

I sure as heck would not add any milfoil.  There's a lot of effort expended around here to keep that stuff out of the lakes.