1st paragraph- history of pond
2nd- starving bass
3rd- stock plan tomorrow

i have 2 private ponds. started in i think 08 the ponds were dug out. luckily both have a small spring in them and we had a huge rain a week after they were finished and the ponds filled up overnight. they are both about 3 acres when full. right now they are under the berm so like 1.5-2 acres for each. both go down to 17 feet deep. pretty big holes. we started off stocking the ponds with 500 each minnows and bluegill for a year. put them in both same size like minnow sized. then after that year we did 500 each catfish and bass. (0-1 inch long. keep in mind we did this amount of fish for each pond) well, after another year or two we started catching bass like 2 pounds. i was shocked how fast they grew.2 years ago we started catching fat bass like 4-7 pounds. amazing how fast bass grow. well the last year and a half, the water levels keep going lower and lower and less room for baitfish to hide.

i think the bass started running out of food around then because now we catch skinny bass that look very very unhealthy where the belly goes in. so after waiting 1.5 years for the ponds to fill back up, they never did so we have to stock them or the bass are going to die. i see lots of fingerlings and minnows but thats not enough to sustain a growing bass population. we still catch long bass but most are bucket mouths that could be 6 pounders but are instead 3-4.

i plan to stock the ponds tomorrow with shad, bluegill, and minnows. probably 300 each or something for each pond. will that be good or will the shad and minnows die off in the winter. im pretty sure the bluegill will do fine. also, will they find enough places for some to last long enough to hide and reproduce?
i have to stock the ponds now because the bass are starving but what should i put in to feed those bass?

sorry for typing so much. just wanted to be thorough. 3rd paragraph is really all my question was


2 years after stocking bass-


some healthy bass-




skinny- i only have 2 pics cuz i don't like taking pics of skinny bass

Jason,

I'll offer a couple of observations. First would be to remove every bass you catch under 13 or 14 inches. Along with that, if you are interested in fat trophy bass, get rid of all the cats as well. Doing this will improve the relative weights of your bass and help your forage population to rebound.

Regarding the forage, in small ponds the shad will likely not become established and will simply be an expensive snack for the bass and cats. Also, minnows fall into the same category. It takes roughly 10 pounds of forage to add 1 pound of weight to a LMB....do the math...300 minnows aren't going to make a dent and serve little to no purpose.

What you should strive for, IMO, is a thriving bluegill population to provide ample forage for the bass. In two acre pond, the minimum I would stock of bluegills in a new pond would be 2000.

By stocking 500 bass and 500 cats, you way overstocked the pond with predators and it was only a matter of time before the forage would be destroyed. Bass at 100 per acre, less if you want larger fish, would be what I would recommend with NO catfish...again if you want large bass forget the cats.

You need to get to a 10 to 1 ration(at least) of bluegills to bass and I'd bet you are a long ways from that.

To get there, remove all small bass, all cats, and add larger bluegills.

I am no expert like meadowlark but I know a little, and he is dead on.

You went way too heavy at the start. I would removed every catfish and small bass you can.

And stocking minnows is a waste of money. I would add bluegills, adult sized, and as many as you can, so this spring they can do what bluegill do best, make baby bluegills for your bass to chow on!

Good luck dude! If you need help getting those bass and cats out shoot me a PM! Looks like a good place you got, wont take too long to get back in balance.

If you have 2 ponds, and they are close, you could have a trophy tank and a catch-all-you-can tank. Grab all dinks from the trophy tank and throw them into the dink tank

Meadow and Dan are correct.

Bluegill are the best forage option.

You probably need to take out at least 100 lbs of bass under 14 inches from each pond and consider stocking more adult bluegill. Don't do shad, and minnows are just a snack that won't last long.

Time to start culling small bass and all cats. Also look into sinking some brush piles if you haven't before.

Do you have a feeder for the BGs?

Shallow habitat is a must to grow your forage base.

Is the water clear or murky, in the pools?