New pond owner needs advice:

I own a private pond that is roughly 4.5 acres in size that is covered in coontail. I estimate about 60-75% coverage, to the point you literally cannot throw anything thats not a top water and you even catch some ocassionally with top waters. The deepest part of the pond is in a 1 acre area and is roughly 20 feet deep the remaining 3.5 acres are all 1-6 feet deep, does that change how you would approach removal?

From a management perspective, the pond contains largemouth, sunfish, crappie (although from what I can tell the crappie numbers seem relativly low) and catfish. It is not uncommon to go out to the pond and catch 25-30 12-15" largemouth with a popper(half a pound or less on the majority). It does not appear that the sunfish popululation is hurting as I usually catch several everytime we go out on the poppers and will have quite a few follow swimbaits/worms back to the boat.

Where would you start? Would you recommend getting with a biologist or someone of that nature, and if so who would you recommend in the Stepenville area?

Thanks for any help.

For controlling the coontail you have two options. The first would be to spray it with chemicals. Spraying the coontail will control it relatively quickly but is expensive.

Another option is to stock grass carp. They may take a few years to get the vegetation under control but they are a cheaper alternative.

The bass you are catching is common for a stunted bass pond. You can start by removing bass that are less than 15" and look underweight. If you catch a small fish but he looks fat, let him go.

I would start by filling an application for grass carp stocking w/TP&W. I'd probably ask for approval for stocking about 25 grass carp (and expecting to not need that amount).

Once you get your permit, then find a supplier in your area. Start slowly, maybe something like 6 or 7 grass carp as your initial stocking. Carefully watch your pond and the progress of the grass carp. I'd probably wait a couple of months and then determine if the coon tail removal rate was sufficient or needed to be bumped up with addition of more grass carp.

If I determined it needed more, I'd probably go for another 5 or 6 carp and again watch the progress. In my approach, I'm not looking for a "weedless" pond, rather a pond that has the weeds under control and can be efficiently fished. I'm also taking a patient approach, because I've found the quick and dirty approaches are often fraught with many problems.

Again, I would watch and wait. Remember my approach is "CONTROL" not necessarily weed elimination. I want some weeds, but want them under control and not hindering my fishing.

Keep going with this approach, adding grass carp slowly until you reach the point where you are happy. Remember that those fish will keep eating coon tail, so what you are trying to measure is the rate of control, or rate of decrease in weeds that you are getting. Project ahead with that rate estimation, and you can begin to see whether or not you need to add more carp. Always remember it is far easier to add more grass carp than it is to remove them.

That's my approach, it works for me. If you are impatient or not willing to take the time this approach requires, you can always go the chemical route and get fast results. Be careful about any use of chemicals, however, from now until fall while the water temps are high and dissolved O2 is low.

Good luck.