I have been fishing a small pond (~1.5 acres - 10 feet deep at deepest) for several years. Ironically, the very first cast I made in this pond with a Heddon Tiny Torpedo I caught a 5 1/2 to 6 pound bass. Since then, having fished it 10-12 times, I've caught one 3 pounder and the rest have been 1.5 and below. A friend and I fished it yesterday. He fishes for bluegills and other sunfish and keeps everything for a Vietnamese neighbor who makes all kinds of "fish stuff" out of them. I fished for bass and caught 12 or so, the biggest being a pound and a half, maybe. Several of the fish were extremely emaciated. My first guess would be that the pond is over populated but my friend sat there in his kayak in two spots and caught 50-60 small bluegill! I'm wondering with that many small bluegill, how are these bass not getting enough food?

As I've stated, the pond is about 1.5 acres and 10 feet deep. The water is very clear (which means not much plankton!) and the bottom is almost covered in what I believe to be coontail.

Any ideas as to what might be going on? I fish another neighbor's pond and routinely catch bass over four pounds.

A predator needs prey that is 1/4 to 1/3 it’s body size.It’s a matter of energy expended for calories obtained.

Difficult to be sure without comprehensive investigation, but that is a common fishing report for ponds severely overgrown with aquatic weeds like coontail. May not be the whole story, but I suspect it plays a roll. Basic theory is that bluegill can hide from bass indefinitely in the dense weeds, leading to their overpopulation and slow growth. Bass can't reach the bluegill efficiently, and when they do they find small bluegill (little return for hunting energy investment). If that is the root of the problem, weed control is first priority. Once the bluegill are exposed, the bass will find them and start thinning the population, resulting in average weight gain for both species. Again, only a theory based on limited information.

Thank you for these replies. I’m puzzled by the Predator to Prey ratio comment . That would imply that a six pound bass would seek and consume a 2 pound bass to accomplish necessary calorie intake. That doesn’t seem logical.

Yes there is A LOT of vegetative cover in the pond and the water is very clear. Maybe the ease of avoidance by bluegills does impact their ability to successfully avoid predators.

Or a bunch of smaller ones.