pond chance

[senko]

me,my uncle, 'n my dad stocked about 40 bass that we caught into a pond a couple years ago.what do you think the chances of them being in there still are?we also stuck bluegills,thread fin shad,and crawdads in it.it is about 5-10 acres with tules outlining it.it is murky water,only like 5 inches of visibility.i will post more details later.

[WTL]

Well, is there any reason that the fish would have gone anywhere? Was there fish before you stocked it?

If you spread 40 bass out over 5-10 acres, thats not too many fish.

[senko]

there used to be bass in there,we were hoping the bass we planted would spawn.i have tried in there before with a lot of baits,but no luck.lately i have gone down there in the morning and evening and see fish jump but i think those are carp.i did see shad pushed to the surface before.i will post pics.

[senko]

sorry,it wasnt 5-10 acres,more like 1-3.thats what my dad said.

[WTL]

If the pond has the following it probably still has bass;

*Good habitat
*Decent water quality
*Enough baitfish for a predator fish to survive
*Not too many other undesirable fish (carp, gar, goldfish, crappie)

I would think those fish probably spawned, but sometime the problem is related to the food chain. Just adding bass doesn't always do the trick, the bass gotta eat - they need lots of baitfish, who in turn need their own food.

Bass normally don't disappear completly. Its probably got some, just not all too many - which isn't a bad thing either.

[senko]

Originally Posted by WTL

If the pond has the following it probably still has bass;

*Good habitat
*Decent water quality
*Enough baitfish for a predator fish to survive
*Not too many other undesirable fish (carp, gar, goldfish, crappie)

I would think those fish probably spawned, but sometime the problem is related to the food chain. Just adding bass doesn't always do the trick, the bass gotta eat - they need lots of baitfish, who in turn need their own food.

there is plenty of baitfish,it looks like it is raining down there in the evening.there is carp.what do you mean about water quality?habitat...a lot of tules,i mean a lot of them.there might be underwater cover,i dont have electronics.

[WTL]

Well mainly, it hasn't been poisoned. Sometimes ponds near farms will get pesticides in there, or too much dirt from erosion - that doesn't happen all too much and I suspect you just arent catching fish cause you havent found out what they are biting on. 99 times ought of 100 thats the case.

[senko]

it is a farm pond,and i know it used to be so clear untill they started irrigating,then it got murky.from the silt,i suppose?

[WTL]

Senko,
I think you probably are just having trouble catching the bass that are in there. That is normally the case, its rare that ponds are poisoned and all the fish are killed, I just included it in the list cause it was a possibility. Actually if you see carp and shad then that means the water is probably fine.

I tell you what, you need to change up your tactics. Get some beetlespins, get some other lures suitable for crappie and bluegill and small bass and try to catch whatever you can for the sake of establishing what type of fish are in there. Its hard to get skunked on a beetlespin. The quality may be crap though, but you are fishing for information. And if that don't work, get nightcrawlers.

[senko]

yeah thanks,that is what i was going to do.i think i will go there this weekend.i will let you know how i do.

[senko]

another question;does it make a difference by taking them from a river and putting them in a pond?o,do you think i could put smallies and spots in there too?

[ToPwAt'R GuY]

I wouldnt take any fish from a river to a pond.

A lot of those fish have too much mercury in them. Not good for you if you eat any of them.

[senko]

i dont plan to eat them,just catch and release

[WTL]

I guess you could.

The smallies and spots probably wont be able to compete with the largemouth well enough to establish a spawning population.

[senko]

i will try it,so maybe some day i will be able to get a .grand slam

[KenDammit]

introducing too many predators can really stunt the growth of fish and possibly even kill them off.

Aside from that..mixed with largemouth in a relatively confined area...it wouldn't be surprising to see the largemouth basically eat them to death. You also need a good rocky, sandy bottom so that the smallmouth can spawn effectively. They dont eat bluegill very well or any other larger bodied fish..but can tear up shad and other elongated baitfish.

Overall, I would advise against mixing the two fish in a pond environment. There probably won't be enough food to sustain the smallmouth population. Everything they CAN eat, the largemouth can eat, too. Everything the largemouth eats, the smallmouth can't eat(like bluegills and most other sunfish).

[WTL]

I agree with Ken here. Like I said you can put smallies in, but those will be a sideshow that don't reproduce, there would be no fishable population of smallmouth...you might catch one (that you stocked personally) once a blue moon and get a kick out of the variety thats all.

I have a friend who wants to fix his pond up and I will throw in a couple smallies too..but I don't expect anything. I know for a fact they can't outcompete a largemouth in a pond, so I am just throwing a couple in for the hell of it.