Pond advice

[Mattyq2402]

I have a chain of ponds on my future house site in SE Ohio. 20 years ago they were prime fisheries, 2 to 6lb bass, bluegill schools everywhere, catfish, multi species from 5 to 60lb. Plenty of crappie, etc.....

I moved out west and progressively things have stunted year after year during my visits, its been a downward trend. There's slot bass 8 to 12inch now and nothing else. There's minimal bluegill, small amount of crappie, and no cats.

Fishing was my life as a youngster, was much better at it than a hunter. I'm scheduled to retire from my out west leo gig in 2030. I'd like to build these ponds up so my kids can enjoy them during our summer visits and when we move back for good in 2030. I know little about pond management and looking for resources out there to get the ponds to their full capabilities.

I.e. structure implements, homemade structure implements, water quality, bait fish types and amounts, good ohio nurseries who don't break the bank,etc... Anyone out there got a BA pond or small lake? I am clueless....

 

[Tree Spud]

Check out Pond Boss ... it is the Habitat Talk of ponds.

Pond Boss Forum - Forums powered by UBB.threads

Own or building a private pond/lake? Want bigger fish? Got Aquatic Plants or moss? Pond Boss magazine, website & forum have answers. We are land and pond management.

forums.pondboss.com

 

[omicron1792]

I have a chain of ponds on my future house site in SE Ohio. 20 years ago they were prime fisheries, 2 to 6lb bass, bluegill schools everywhere, catfish, multi species from 5 to 60lb. Plenty of crappie, etc.....

I moved out west and progressively things have stunted year after year during my visits, its been a downward trend. There's slot bass 8 to 12inch now and nothing else. There's minimal bluegill, small amount of crappie, and no cats.

Fishing was my life as a youngster, was much better at it than a hunter. I'm scheduled to retire from my out west leo gig in 2030. I'd like to build these ponds up so my kids can enjoy them during our summer visits and when we move back for good in 2030. I know little about pond management and looking for resources out there to get the ponds to their full capabilities.

I.e. structure implements, homemade structure implements, water quality, bait fish types and amounts, good ohio nurseries who don't break the bank,etc... Anyone out there got a BA pond or small lake? I am clueless....

Just ordered my fish. Prob best to nuke what’s in there and start over. With multiple ponds I would not mix the big fish too much. Have one for catfish. One for crappie. Multiple for bass.

All will need bait fish (bluegill, shell cracker, minnows)

 

[Catscratch]

Check out Pond Boss ... it is the Habitat Talk of ponds.

Pond Boss Forum - Forums powered by UBB.threads

Own or building a private pond/lake? Want bigger fish? Got Aquatic Plants or moss? Pond Boss magazine, website & forum have answers. We are land and pond management.

forums.pondboss.com

What he said! PondBoss will steer you in the right direction. Huge amounts of knowledge, just ask.

 

[Mattyq2402]

Copy that, after taking the initial dive I see some major problem areas with lack of habitat and cover. Def gonna enjoy pond boss

What he said! PondBoss will steer you in the right direction. Huge amounts of knowledge, just ask.

 

[Catscratch]

Copy that, after taking the initial dive I see some major problem areas with lack of habitat and cover. Def gonna enjoy pond boss

What's your name over there? I'll be interested in following your tread.

 

[Mattyq2402]

SEOBBD24

 

[Catscratch]

SEOBBD24

What the hell kind of name is that!?! I can't remember that!

Lol, just joking. I'll keep an eye out for ya to see how things progress. Those guys know their chit!

 

[b116757]

Ponds fill with silt over time also a good cleaning maybe in order.

 

[hunts_with_stick]

What county are you in?

 

[Troubles Trees]

I'm scheduled to retire from my out west leo gig in 2030

I don't have any advice regarding ponds but there are some great minds here and I am sure you will get good advice, but I wanted to thank you for your service!

 

[Tree Spud]

I have a chain of ponds on my future house site in SE Ohio. 20 years ago they were prime fisheries, 2 to 6lb bass, bluegill schools everywhere, catfish, multi species from 5 to 60lb. Plenty of crappie, etc.....

I moved out west and progressively things have stunted year after year during my visits, its been a downward trend. There's slot bass 8 to 12inch now and nothing else. There's minimal bluegill, small amount of crappie, and no cats.

Fishing was my life as a youngster, was much better at it than a hunter. I'm scheduled to retire from my out west leo gig in 2030. I'd like to build these ponds up so my kids can enjoy them during our summer visits and when we move back for good in 2030. I know little about pond management and looking for resources out there to get the ponds to their full capabilities.

I.e. structure implements, homemade structure implements, water quality, bait fish types and amounts, good ohio nurseries who don't break the bank,etc... Anyone out there got a BA pond or small lake? I am clueless....

How big is the pond? What is depth?

Small bass and very few panfish suggests bass population is to high thus stunting bass growth. I would start to remove as many bass as you can. To spend money on adding panfish or minnows would be a waste as they would be quickly eaten.

If you don't have any structure in the pond, hard for baitfish & panfish fry to survive. If no structure, add some structure before adding more fish. Wood pallets with cinder blocks or rock piles are good. Laying a couple of pallets on top of each other in 1' - 2' of water allows baitfish to lay their eggs on the underside of flat wood surfaces.

A company that supplies good structures that you can assemble is ...

Artifical Pond and Lake Fish Structures by MossBack Fish Habitat

MossBack Fish Habitat is the perfect artificial habitat solution for anyone who wants to add fish protection and structure to their pond or lake.

mossbackfishhabitat.com

Pond mgmt is like habitat management, learn what you have and go slow with changes.

 

[TreeDaddy]

How big is the pond? What is depth?

Small bass and very few panfish suggests bass population is to high thus stunting bass growth. I would start to remove as many bass as you can. To spend money on adding panfish or minnows would be a waste as they would be quickly eaten.

If you don't have any structure in the pond, hard for baitfish & panfish fry to survive. If no structure, add some structure before adding more fish. Wood pallets with cinder blocks or rock piles are good. Laying a couple of pallets on top of each other in 1' - 2' of water allows baitfish to lay their eggs on the underside of flat wood surfaces.

A company that supplies good structures that you can assemble is ...

Artifical Pond and Lake Fish Structures by MossBack Fish Habitat

MossBack Fish Habitat is the perfect artificial habitat solution for anyone who wants to add fish protection and structure to their pond or lake.

mossbackfishhabitat.com

Pond mgmt is like habitat management, learn what you have and go slow with changes.

like deer, bass are creatures of edge and use under water terrain features/topography

pond management is great fun

check out the pond boss magazine

bill

 

[Mattyq2402]

How big is the pond? What is depth?

Small bass and very few panfish suggests bass population is to high thus stunting bass growth. I would start to remove as many bass as you can. To spend money on adding panfish or minnows would be a waste as they would be quickly eaten.

If you don't have any structure in the pond, hard for baitfish & panfish fry to survive. If no structure, add some structure before adding more fish. Wood pallets with cinder blocks or rock piles are good. Laying a couple of pallets on top of each other in 1' - 2' of water allows baitfish to lay their eggs on the underside of flat wood surfaces.

A company that supplies good structures that you can assemble is ...

Artifical Pond and Lake Fish Structures by MossBack Fish Habitat

MossBack Fish Habitat is the perfect artificial habitat solution for anyone who wants to add fish protection and structure to their pond or lake.

mossbackfishhabitat.com

Pond mgmt is like habitat management, learn what you have and go slow with changes.

Pond sizes are both about an acre, one may be a little over. Depths are 10 to 12 feet deep.

 

[Telemark]

I would probably dump in a bunch of structure and net out most of the bass. Then restock. See how that goes for you. Draining and dredging is a massive project, and best avoided if possible.

 

[SoSalty]

A top concern in pond management is harvesting your fish. You've seen this by not living there thus not being able to frequently fish to control populations. A previous post wisely recommended not stocking multiple major species in a single pond. That would help simplify yet since crappie spawns are so inconsistent, tricky regardless in a 1ac pond, and you won't move until 2030, you should hold off on stocking those until you're about to retire there (then only with much forethought). While minnows can jump start if stocked before any bass are, they would be a waste of $$ to stock with an existing bass pop. Once you have structure and have removed some bass, stock Blue Gill/Shell Crackers, Golden Shiners, and Yellow Perch for forage.

I'm not a pond expert. Dad and I stocked and/or dug a few ponds and have made most the mistakes possible to make. I know you'll rely on other info, but perhaps this opinion will line up with what you learn in the years as you approach retiring in Ohio.

 

[SD51555]

Is there a place you can pump the water if you drained it?

I saw a guy drain a 1/3 acre pond in a few hours with a massive manure sized pump. If u can, I’d drain it, kill it and start over, and never put bass and sunfish in ever again. I’ve not seen anyone that can keep a lid on sunfish and bass and they always end up overpopulating and stunting.

I am nearing the day when I’m gonna maybe dig two. One will be perch/walleye, one will be perch/catfish. The beauty of perch is they stay bite size for predators until they’re keepers. Once sunfish hit about 4”, it takes an impressive gape to be able to eat it. And that is why 90% of the sunfish in northern MN are dinks, except where there are limitless tiny northerns to slaughter the sunfish when they’re small.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SoSalty]

Ohio can support both Northern and Southern fisheries, lucky you. SD51555’s idea of draining and starting over is well. . like getting to start all over. Only short coming of a rented pump is it’ll form a vortex and suck air the last 2-3 ft leaving surviving fish. Use a smaller slower pump to finish. IF you can get an excavator close to the pond bottom without sinking in muck, reach out and dig a hole for water to seep into. By pumping the hole(s) dry you should get it down enough to kill all fish. Cover and pack afterwards.

Consider stocking the Red Ear Shellcracker bream. With a predator, such as Walleye or Catfish, Shellcrackers do not get out of control and are beneficial, bottom feeders that don’t directly compete with most fish for food, a little bigger than bluegill, and good eating.

I highly recommend retirement !

 

[b116757]

You can easily siphon it dry with some pvc pipe 2” likely work well and be pretty cheap to purchase maybe keep an eye on marketplace or Craigslist. Put in a valve or cap at bottom of pipe and a t fitting with cap near the crown of siphon but on the down hill side. Cap end of pipe fill with water, cap fill hole and remove bottom cap/open valve and give it some time cheap and easy with out blowing a hole in the dam or renting equipment.