My pond has fish 🙂

[Bszweda]

After three years of owning the property decided to try out some fishing. I didn't know what to expect. About 30 minutes in wasn't catching and got side tracked by a cotton mouth on the waters edge. Kinda started to think it's a snake and turtle pond. I saw some splashes and decided to cast towards it and boom I hooked up. Then in about 30 minutes caught about ten of them. My first fish from the pond not huge, but felt blessed to have my own little fishing hole. After releasing him i did the good old wash your hands off in the water, and once I put my hands in a blue gill some how beaches itself next to me on the shore. Scared the heck out of me since the place is loaded with snakes. I guess it's also makes a first to inadvertently caught a fish with my hands.

 

[Bszweda]

My first fish out of the pond

 

[Catscratch]

Cool and congrats!

 

[b116757]

If it has a lot of undersized bass take a good number of them out.

 

[Bszweda]

What do you consider optimal bass size? I did a google search and it sounds like I can support 50- 60 pounds of bass. The pond is only .60th of an acre. I'd say the majority of them were the size in my picture. I did catch one small 6 inch one. I might leave it for now, and have more smaller fish so if my nieces or nephews decide to fish it they will be more likely to catch something. I'm starting to look into docks now.

 

[Bszweda]

Mr Cotton mouth

 

[356]

Thanks for sharing! I am hoping for a similar story from our pond...I was told it has lots of fish, but the year we bought the place an otter spent the winter, followed by a muskrat. After eliminating both, we restocked. The other day I saw the carcass of a large bass by the pond, so I am wondering if some of the fish survived. Your post is the inspiration I need to go back and try fishing the pond.

PS...we also have lots of snakes around the pond, and I hate snakes, vis-a-vis, Indiana Jones. Thus, when I go out I carry a Taurus Judge.

 

[b116757]

That bass isn’t really to bad of size I have a couple ponds that every other cast your pulling in a small skinny 6-8” bass I have my kids pitching them over the dam to try and get some bigger fish in those ponds.

 

[Barndog56]

A buddy of mine has a similar size pond with comparable fish. Then a pair of otters moved in. His wife thought they were the coolest thing ever and wouldn't let him get rid of them. Four months later the fish were all gone and then the otters moved on. Still has the snakes though!

 

[b116757]

Otters are the pond owners arch enemy.

 

[drycreek]

Mr Cotton mouth

Otters are the pond owners arch enemy.

I had three in mine. My pond is about an acre and a quarter. I live really close to a major creek so I have plenty of visitors, even had a couple gators a few years ago. A family of otters, four of them, moved into my son’s pond next to me. He killed one of them and they left. Guess where they went ! One morning right after I first saw them I sneaked down in my golf cart and came up on the back side of the dam. As luck would have it, all three of them were swimming down the dam toward me. I had my trusty Henry .22 mag lever gun so I made like John Wayne (except I had a scope) and cut ‘em down. They will totally decimate the fish population in a small pond !

One of the gators that we had visit for a couple months. He is catching a large diamond back moccasin, a fish eater, not venomous .