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Another question for the pond guys

SWBUCKHNTR

SWBUCKHNTR

Member
Well I am starting to figure out what is in the pond. I am catching a lot of bass the last 3 days I have fished hard before and after work and have caught probably 60-70 bass all are in that 12-16 inch range except 1 18 1/2 and 1 19 and then one that was right at 20. The bass are very healthy looking I would say about 85% are 12 inches. I also have caught quite a few bluegills and they range all sizes with a lot of really big ones.

Now that I know this what should I do to increase the average size of bass and I am also gonna add some black crappies. I would really like to have a nice crappie pond but that will take some time. In the mean time what should I do? Thanks for any info.
 
If you put crappie in there you will never have big bass. It will also hurt your bluegill growth. The guy i talked to from the DNR told us Crappie was a very bad thing for ponds.
 
goatman said:
keep alot of the bass under 14".
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this is what you need to do. For a summer or 2 and you will notice your average size will increase..... not sure if there is a statewide regulation on bass size limits..... but for the betterment of your pond, that is a great start!

:drink2:
 
I fish many ponds that have big bass along with big crappies in them, maybe it's just something in my area but i have caught numerous bass as big as 24 inches in them along with crappies that are between 14 to 16 inches. I also think that cows help bass grow bigger. seems like all the ponds i fish with big bass have cows around them. Cows probably arn't the best because they tend to ruin the dams and push unwanted dirt into the pond though.
 
I have nothing to add as far as the original question, and appologize for the thread hijack, but I'm curious what you're using to catch the bass this time of year. I thought maybe it was a little early to be catching any numbers of bass, but apparently not! :grin:
 
teeroy said:
put a couple gallons of minnows in.
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I've heard from several sources (DNR, fish hatcheries, etc) that unless you are absolutely, positively, 100% sure that they are 'regular' minnows that this is not a good idea.
Apparently often times when people do this, there can be an oddball in there such as a carp or bullhead and it goes without saying that would be a very, very bad thing.
 
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Wiedmann said:
I fish many ponds that have big bass along with big crappies in them
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Yea, i have too. I was shocked when two different pond management people to us that crappie was not good for ponds. They said 10 acres and less. Anything bigger was fine. All of the ponds that we fish are under 5 acres.
 
Blaster said:
Yea, i have too. I was shocked when two different pond management people to us that crappie was not good for ponds. They said 10 acres and less. Anything bigger was fine. All of the ponds that we fish are under 5 acres.
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Yep. Don't believe all the things they say. I have both big bass and big crappie. But I have a very set rule about big bass leaving my pond. Get a replica and eat the crappie and bluegill.The converted deer feeder to fish feeder has made a difference.
 
Thanks for all the info. I know people say it is hard to have a good bass and crappie pond together but my over all goal is a crappie pond so that is what I am gonna go for. I have been taking some bass out and helping some friends out with stocking bass in their ponds. I think as far as having good bass and crappies in a pond it depends on a lot of things. I am just hoping my pond is "one of those ponds" that can hold a few of each. I am gonna have set rules to take out almost every bluegill caught and most of the bass caught that are around the 14 inch mark. Then I am gonna add 400 black crappies and a few fish structures. I am also gonna put some fatheads in. I know this could be a bad move but I think I have a reliable source for minnows and I am hoping that the crappies devour them the first year or two. After three years in I will change my rules to throw back big fish only and really small while keeping only the medium size of all the fish. I will see how it goes. Hopefully I have quite a few years to live and learn and see what works best.
 
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