Started By
Message
locked post

Fishing Guru's a quick question

Posted on 1/23/12 at 6:10 pm
Posted by angus1838
Southeast Alabama
Member since Jan 2012
923 posts
Posted on 1/23/12 at 6:10 pm
I have a pond I had dug about 9 years ago. It is about 1/2 an acre and I had it stocked with 100 bream and shellcracker, 50 channel cat, 50 tilapia, and 27 bass. The tilapia died the first winter and there is probably about 15 cats left that would go about 5 to 10 pounds. My son and I went yesterday to catch some bream to eat and we couldn't keep out lines in the water cause of 1 to 2 pound bass.in an hour he caught about 8. Should we try to fish them out.
Posted by PapaPogey
Baton Rouge
Member since Apr 2008
40496 posts
Posted on 1/23/12 at 6:12 pm to
Sounds like a fun problem. I have no clue about managing small ponds.
Posted by Boats n Hose
NOLA
Member since Apr 2011
37248 posts
Posted on 1/23/12 at 6:15 pm to
Fried bass tastes fine

quote:

Sounds like a fun problem
Posted by MsandLa
in the L.P.
Member since Jan 2009
7537 posts
Posted on 1/23/12 at 6:17 pm to
quote:

Should we try to fish them out.


i would not fish them out but definately take a few out every now and then. over population will stunt growth of all fish.

also, if you start catching white perch.. keep all you catch because they will take over.
Posted by Nodust
Member since Aug 2010
22804 posts
Posted on 1/23/12 at 6:18 pm to
1. I didn't think it was legal to stock talapia in a pond and you should be happy they died

2. 1-2 lbs bass what is the problem?
Posted by angus1838
Southeast Alabama
Member since Jan 2012
923 posts
Posted on 1/23/12 at 6:41 pm to
I will have to admit I have had worse problems but the tournament thread earlier got me thinking if I got rid of some of these smaller ones wil some grow bigger
Posted by Intermingler
Florida's Gulf Coast
Member since May 2011
970 posts
Posted on 1/23/12 at 6:51 pm to
yes as long as there is food for them
Posted by Nodust
Member since Aug 2010
22804 posts
Posted on 1/23/12 at 6:54 pm to
The pond should stabilize after so many years. We stocked a pond with catfish and hybrid bream once. Took a few years to get decent sized fish.

You want to make sure you leave enough breeders in there. Are you feeding the fish anything?

Just reread your op. After nine years those you may be getting overpopulated. It may be time to harvest. I just don't know how you can tell.
This post was edited on 1/23/12 at 6:56 pm
Posted by angus1838
Southeast Alabama
Member since Jan 2012
923 posts
Posted on 1/23/12 at 7:02 pm to
I was feeding them til after about november. I just wish they would get a little bigger. And yes I will eat a bass I just love a bream.
Posted by lsufan112001
sportsmans paradise
Member since Oct 2006
11217 posts
Posted on 1/23/12 at 7:03 pm to
Gotta have a permit for talapia in LA. Be glad they died. Go to ldwf website and find pond management book by LSU Ag
Bass are hard on
catfish fingerlings.
Posted by Dooshay
CEBA
Member since Jun 2011
29879 posts
Posted on 1/23/12 at 7:03 pm to
Bass will eat anything they can fit in their mouths. They have pretty big mouths.
Posted by AlxTgr
Kyre Banorg
Member since Oct 2003
87540 posts
Posted on 1/23/12 at 7:05 pm to
You should keep a lot of those bass. The only pond I ever had access to had a problem with stunted fish. After have a bio look at it, the owner told us if he caught us throwing bass back, we could no longer fish. he said, if we don't want them, throw them on the bank. We did. Three years or so later, fish over 4 lbs were a regular occurance. I had never seen one over 2.5 before that.
Posted by angus1838
Southeast Alabama
Member since Jan 2012
923 posts
Posted on 1/23/12 at 7:10 pm to
I didn't have a problem getting the tilapia here. I have a few ponds and am just curious about the management. To be honest I have no idea about it. I just know I would like to catch something a little over 2 pounds after nine years!
Posted by Devious
Elitist
Member since Dec 2010
29442 posts
Posted on 1/23/12 at 7:16 pm to
Look at the bass. Big head, skinny fish = not enough forage. You want a 10:1 ratio (lbs of forage to lbs of bass). Realistically, a small pond like that can't support a very large population, but if managed properly, you can grow some nice fish.

Eta: if you're serious about managing your ponds properly, check out pondboss.
This post was edited on 1/23/12 at 7:17 pm
Posted by DLauw
SWLA
Member since Sep 2011
6194 posts
Posted on 1/23/12 at 7:22 pm to
My pop has a 5 acre pond that's about 17 years old. He never had it stocked. My 6 year old nephew pulled a 9# bass out of it the other day. Where do the fish come from if you never stock it?

I've heard birds carry eggs in their shite or on their feet or? Anyone know? He's got bream and white perch too. Not sure about catfish though.

Edited to remove the automaker
This post was edited on 1/23/12 at 7:33 pm
Posted by AlxTgr
Kyre Banorg
Member since Oct 2003
87540 posts
Posted on 1/23/12 at 7:28 pm to
quote:

Pontiac
Autocorrect?
Posted by DLauw
SWLA
Member since Sep 2011
6194 posts
Posted on 1/23/12 at 7:32 pm to
Yeah I guess so
Posted by faxis
La.
Member since Oct 2007
7773 posts
Posted on 1/23/12 at 7:45 pm to
We had an overpopulation problem with bass in my moms pond many years ago. Could go in there with a tube jig and catch half pound bass till your arms fell off. One time we decided to keep them all and we had them on a stringer dragging behind the jon boat. Got so heavy we were having a hell of a time just making the boat move. Had like eight feet solid of bass. The rest of the time we'd sail those suckers up on the bank. Must have killed thousands of them. But now... great bass pond.
Posted by Slickback
Deer Stand
Member since Mar 2008
28156 posts
Posted on 1/23/12 at 7:48 pm to
I would definitely keep every bass for a while to get some out. Provide additional cover if you can; Christmas trees, concrete culverts, pallets, etc.

The above suggestion to check out PondBoss is a good one. Wealth of pond mgmt knowledge there.
Posted by Nascar Fan
Columbia La.
Member since Jul 2011
18588 posts
Posted on 1/23/12 at 8:08 pm to
What a great problem to have. I'd get some shad in it & some cover for all fish.
first pageprev pagePage 1 of 2Next pagelast page

Back to top
logoFollow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News
Follow us on X, Facebook and Instagram to get the latest updates on LSU Football and Recruiting.

FacebookXInstagram