Thread: Pond Mgmt 101

The owner and myself went to his 10 acre lake to continue trapping coppernose bluegills and thinning the bass population. We trapped 340 coppernose today and landed 23 12" - 13" LM bass. Since last year the bass have grown about 1" to 1 1/2". Those bass clobbbered a 7 1/2" purple worm with a white tail. This is my #1 color that I fish for bass with. The temp was 104 degs with little breeze and fishing was tough to endure. We each drank 1 gallon of fortified liquid.

An interesting thing happened to us as we were getting ready to leave. The owner had seen a LM bass last week that was approx 7-8 lbs cruising around his dock. The fish paid no attention to anyone on the dock even the people that were dangling their feet in the water. It kept cruising back and forth. They tried to catch it but it showed no interest. Tonight was different. The fish kept cruising up to our 2 stringers of 12 - 13" bass. The fish got within 2' of the stringered fish. The owner would walk away from the dock and come to the truck to load tackle and every time he returned that big fish was hovering over the stringered fish. This happened 3 or 4 times. We threw 2" - 3" lively coppernose at it and the fish ignored them. We released a 5" leopard frog near it and it showed mild interest. Finally the owner started throwing bass carcasses in the water for the turtles. The fish swam up and ate a carcass of a 12" bass. You read that right a 12" bass carcass. It disappeared after it got what it was after. This is an old female that has a territory and she was on patrol looking for a stressed bass. She is just a big old predator that is feeding on 10 -12" bass. She looks to be around 22" to 24" long. To catch that fish will probably take a 10" to 12" bass hooked behind the dorsal and fished under a bobber or freelined but worn down from continually fighting him so he becomes an easy meal for her. SHe is a real trophy fish in many peoples eyes. Since she appears to be continually by the dock we may start feeding her carcasses and observe her. That sure made my day seeing her. We do not plan on trying to harvest her. Remember she is a predator on these stunted LM so she is helping reduce the bass population which is our goal anyway. I am sure many people will think I am nuts for not trying to catch and have her mounted but I have no interest in doing that.
We do not have to kill or harvest everything we see in the wild to prove ourselves as humans.

A side note: I have been watching a pair of bobcats along the Deep Fork River in downtown OKC for a while now and it is interesting to see that they do not perceive me as an enemy. They pretty much ignore me and go about my business. Several people have suggested to me to shoot them. I have asked why? They are not bothering me they are just trying to make a living. The fur season is not until winter so shooting them would be out of season and the pelt would be thin.

That's all for now.

Originally Posted by cricket george

The owner and myself went to his 10 acre lake to continue trapping coppernose bluegills and thinning the bass population. We trapped 340 coppernose today and landed 23 12" - 13" LM bass. Since last year the bass have grown about 1" to 1 1/2". Those bass clobbbered a 7 1/2" purple worm with a white tail. This is my #1 color that I fish for bass with. The temp was 104 degs with little breeze and fishing was tough to endure. We each drank 1 gallon of fortified liquid.

An interesting thing happened to us as we were getting ready to leave. The owner had seen a LM bass last week that was approx 7-8 lbs cruising around his dock. The fish paid no attention to anyone on the dock even the people that were dangling their feet in the water. It kept cruising back and forth. They tried to catch it but it showed no interest. Tonight was different. The fish kept cruising up to our 2 stringers of 12 - 13" bass. The fish got within 2' of the stringered fish. The owner would walk away from the dock and come to the truck to load tackle and every time he returned that big fish was hovering over the stringered fish. This happened 3 or 4 times. We threw 2" - 3" lively coppernose at it and the fish ignored them. We released a 5" leopard frog near it and it showed mild interest. Finally the owner started throwing bass carcasses in the water for the turtles. The fish swam up and ate a carcass of a 12" bass. You read that right a 12" bass carcass. It disappeared after it got what it was after. This is an old female that has a territory and she was on patrol looking for a stressed bass. She is just a big old predator that is feeding on 10 -12" bass. She looks to be around 22" to 24" long. To catch that fish will probably take a 10" to 12" bass hooked behind the dorsal and fished under a bobber or freelined but worn down from continually fighting him so he becomes an easy meal for her. SHe is a real trophy fish in many peoples eyes. Since she appears to be continually by the dock we may start feeding her carcasses and observe her. That sure made my day seeing her. We do not plan on trying to harvest her. Remember she is a predator on these stunted LM so she is helping reduce the bass population which is our goal anyway. I am sure many people will think I am nuts for not trying to catch and have her mounted but I have no interest in doing that.
We do not have to kill or harvest everything we see in the wild to prove ourselves as humans.

A side note: I have been watching a pair of bobcats along the Deep Fork River in downtown OKC for a while now and it is interesting to see that they do not perceive me as an enemy. They pretty much ignore me and go about my business. Several people have suggested to me to shoot them. I have asked why? They are not bothering me they are just trying to make a living. The fur season is not until winter so shooting them would be out of season and the pelt would be thin.

That's all for now.

Interesting,Keep the updates coming.

George, my mom has a small 1 acre pond on her property and over the last couple of years a plant that grows along the edge has taken over. It consists of green stalks with slender leaves and tiny white flowers all over it. It grows from the bank and out about 3 or 4 feet. It rises up about 2 to 2.5 feet above the water. It dies off in the winter and comes back stronger each year. I know it's common as I've seen it around ponds my whole life. It's not that big of a deal and I kind of like it. It keeps the water clear, provides habitat for small critters, even small birds roost and nest in it. The only problem is most people (especially kids) can't fish the pond because they get their lures and fish cuaght in it. Is there a herbiside I can use on it in the spring that won't harm the pond? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Meatdragger - Yes, you are in luck, there is a herbicide that is approved for ponds that will do what you want. The product is "Rodeo" by Mansanto. It works similar to "Roundup" but is approved for aquatic habitats. Contact Estes Chemical Co. I suspect they have a Tulsa office. The OKC number is 405/232-2493. You can spray it now and get a kill. You might want to spray some areas and leave some area alone. That way you leave some habitat for the critters and re open areas of the bank for fishing. I do not know how small of a quantity Estes sells this product in. They may have another product in a smaller size that will work equally well,but I am not familiar with. WE use Rodeo around the wastewater lagoons for emergent vegetation control. Rodeo is ONLY for emergent vegetation. If the water weed is below the surface and therefore cannot get contacted by the spray then it will not work.

I hope this answers your question. I suspect what you have is American pond weed. Do the narrow leaves have a maroon tint on the under side?

Cricket George,

I still have not caught a bluegill from my pond. I have a hummingbird fish finder that goes on a rod. It says the temperature is 94 degrees. I tried all depths, but haven't caught one in the two weeks I have been trying.
So, could it be that the water is too warm or they are just not hungry? The pond is old, but we have lived here about 10 years. Never caught a bluegill so it may be that we need to stock the pond.

I did catch 4 turtles today and NO FISH! Turtles just wouldn't leave my bait alone. Now I have decided that if I catch more turtles than fish.....then it is time to get rid of some turtles....red eared sliders.

Thanks,
Patti

Sounds like you have some hungry turtles that are causing a problem. Tiime to thin the turtles. Introduce them to Remington Country but be careful with the shots. Your pond may NOT have any perch in it and therefore out of balance. Have you been fishing with worms in 2-3' of water and possibily in the shade? Still no perch? If so then you need to stock with some sunfish. Where are you located?

Has anyone ever wondered what it cost to raise a 1 pound bass? No, it is not very big is it? Who cares.... Let's see Dunn's Fish Farm once indicated that it takes around 9 pounds of minnows to grow a 1 pound LM bass. Rosy Red minnows cost around $65.00 for 8 pounds so 9 pounds of minnows should cost a little over $73.00. The next time you are fishing a lake or pond and catch a 14" LMB and think nothing of throwing it back because it is too small remember what it cost.

Now think of what it costs to catch and stock 10 mature pairs of bluegill in YOUR pond that you caught in a buddies pond. Insignificant isn't it. I bet you could do that in an afternoon with the kids and grandkids.

Last year I stocked 6 pairs of coppernose bluegill in a 1 1/4 acre pond that had gone dry 2 years before. This pond is located on the Hinton 10 acre lake project. There are no predators (bass, catfish, crappie etc.) in the pond. 14 months later I and a 30 yr fisheries dept veteran estimate there are between 1.5 and 2 million offspring in this brood pond. HHMMMMM now what was the cost comparison again????

Makes you think doesn't it?:D

The bluegill are still spawning on the full and dark moon phases right now.

Might be sumpin to do this 4th of July weekend. Help the kids enjoy some quality time with Mom and Dad and help your pond or Granpa's.

Just plantin a seed.

Good seed!