Growing bigger bass

[danrw84]

A pond that I fish at, about an acre in size, maybe a little bigger, has a lot of bass in it but they don't really have any size. Biggest I've caught out of there is probably 14". I know the size of the body of water has something to do with limiting their growth but is there anything else I can do to help the bass get bigger?

The owner agrees that there are probably too many small bass for any of them to get any size so I think he'll let me start keeping the smaller ones. Any other ideas?

The pond does have blue gill, crappie and catfish in it as well.

[profishermenkid16]

Creekgeek, Thats a common problem with small ponds, the more fish in it competing for the small amount of food source it provides doesn't allow the fish to grow to normal size.I would suggest transfering some of the bass out and see if it helps the size increase. Buying a baitfish such as fathead minnows or bass minnows will help until the fish in the pond reproduce more small fish for them to eat.Check your state laws about transferring fish, it is illegal to do so here in NY state but its known to happen while the law sleeps.P N J

[macgyver]

[quote author=creekgeek link=board=MessBoards;num=1108821145;start=0#0 date=02/19/05 at 08:52:25]A pond that I fish at, about an acre in size, maybe a little bigger, has a lot of bass in it but they don't really have any size. Biggest I've caught out of there is probably 14". I know the size of the body of water has something to do with limiting their growth but is there anything else I can do to help the bass get bigger?

The owner agrees that there are probably too many small bass for any of them to get any size so I think he'll let me start keeping the smaller ones. Any other ideas?

The pond does have blue gill, crappie and catfish in it as well.[/quote]


This isn't Denny's pond is it? Anyway it goes by weight if I'm not mistaken. A body of water can hold x pounds of fish. If they are all small, then you won't get the bigger ones. Also If the pond is pretty shallow that can be a big factor as well, as vegetation, turbidity(sp). I say keep some and fillet them for a good dinner. Slowly they will start getting bigger.

Lizards

[ryan7261]

You can get automatic fish feeders and they are pretty cheap. You could put it in the middle of the pond and it feeds the fish according to the timer. so you could feed those hawgs all day if you wish.

The feeder can be put in the middle of the pond or at the ponds edge. I have seen them on T.V and they spread the food out in a 15 foot radious. In little pellets.


Â* Robby.

[danrw84]

No it's not Denny's pond. Very close to the same size though, this one is a little bigger. I'm sure it's got to be the number of fish that are in there. I'm going to suggest we just start keeping some of the smaller bass to create less competition.