Thread: Bluegill and Pond?

Added 5lbs of fathead minnows a few days ago and will try removing small bluegill and bass ourselves and add some larger bass. I'll try to update but it will be a slow process.

Any other ideas welcome and thanks for the input.

would LEAVE the smaller bass... that`s where BIG bass come from !

Try pondboss.com. Lots of great info there on this very subject. The 5 lbs of fatheads you just added are most likely eaten now. While the larger bass will eat some of those 5 - 6 inch bluegill, they don't eat many of the smaller ones. Still need smaller bass to get the small fry bluegill under control.

absolutely CORRECT sir !

Doubt it's working yet but my nephew caught this from my pond on a buzz bait in the rain today.

The bluegill will eat the fish food along with the catfish. You might see how they respond after a year or so. I think there are times the forage base has deficiencies and the fish will stunt even when the population is theoretically correct. I have seined ponds before that were underperforming and expected to find more fish in them then we actually did.

Originally Posted by smashdn

Add flathead catfish.

I would advise against putting flatheads in a pond. Flathead catfish are carnivores(eat only live bait), whereas channel catfish are scavengers. In just a very short time the flatheads will destroy every other species.

Originally Posted by jigflinger

I would advise against putting flatheads in a pond. Flathead catfish are carnivores(eat only live bait), whereas channel catfish are scavengers. In just a very short time the flatheads will destroy every other species.

He wants to control the bluegill population. A flathead or two will put a dent in that population in no time. I don't think a flathead will hurt the bass population (given the size of the one in the picture) and given the fact he is saying he has too many bluegill.

If you have too much weed growth and cover in a pond the bluegill can overpopulate too. They can easily hide from the predator bass. If that is the case a STERILE grass carp can be beneficial.