Hog Basser

Yeah, I kind of rethought it after I posted and the statement was a little mis-worded. In my research and personal experience with pond management, most ponds can be good for a short amount of time if not managed, but, barring absolutely perfect conditions and natural predation of bass, all will eventually have a stunted bass population unless bass are culled and the pond is continually managed. Usually within 5-6 years they can go downhill. I guess the proper way to say it is that the "Average weight for a healthy bass that length is xx, however if caught in a smaller pond there's a good chance the bass won't be at the average healthy weight". This, of course, doesn't mean it can't happen. It is my goal to have a lot of double-digit beasts in my own 60 acre pond after all.

Personally, I prefer to research what the professionals say in the numerous articles also located on this site. And I would consult professionals before taking on any large project. But a private pond manager is ultimately responsible for his waters and the decisions he/she makes. People like to talk about and share their projects and what has worked/not worked for them in the past. It is just another discussion about the love of fishing and raising your own fish. I think the people involved in these forum discussions are smart enough to figure out they can't apply these principles to public water if that's what you're talking about. Plus, there are enough resources on this site to promote the research and opinions of professionals thoroughly and dispel any wrong or hurtful notions. The main difference between public and private waters is catch & release vs. selective culling of fish to maintain a healthy fish population. I think this distinction and discussion around it for private waters is much needed. There are all types of fisherman with many different philosophies, healthy discussion about all these philosophies will only help promote better understanding of the great sport of fishing from every angle.

I've had two best days so far, hope to add many more in the near future once my sons get old enough to fish. 1. 22 years ago with my older brother (who I lost almost 15 years ago) on a farm reservoir in eastern Arkansas. This was leased land that we had for duck hunting, but could fish it too. This reservoir was loaded with 5 lbs bass and you could catch one on almost every cast. It was loaded with gar too. Well, I caught a gar that, once I got it to the boat, I had a hard time getting the treble hook out of its beak. I was using pliers and the gar was so strong that it ripped the pliers out of my hand with one twitch and lodged the hook in my finger. One more twitch and it laid my finger wide open. The fishing was so good my brother wouldn't leave. He took me back to the bank in our little jon boat and dropped me at the car. I drove back to where we were staying and cleaned it up, bandaged it and headed right back out for more fishing. That was a good day and a great memory. He taught me everything I know about fishing. That reservoir no longer has the fish it once had because the landowners didn't manage it for that and ended up draining it a few times since then. 2. Now I'm passing that on with my nephews. I've had a few good trips with the older one, but the younger one kept getting skunked. Well, in the same general area in eastern Arkansas, we now have some of our own land with a fishing lake on it (something my brother would be proud of). This was the closing weekend of duck season (just a few weeks ago) and it was unseasonably warm, so what else to do but go fishing! Nothing better than getting some ducks in the morning and fish in the afternoon. Well, I only caught one bass, but my (previously skunked) nephew caught 10 bass and a crappie on the same crawfish crankbait. I was much happier watching him be successful than catching fish myself and I hope it continues. I think both my nephews now have the bug. The best part is, most of the fishing gear we use and that crankbait were my brother's. He is still helping us fish after being gone 15 years. I've added a few new rods/reels and baits, but the bulk of my stuff is due to my brother being such an avid fisherman and it is the reason I fish today.

Very nice fish!

I enjoy Bob Lusk's articles the most! His stuff is much easier to read than some of the more scientific-minded writers. I think there is some sort of partnership here with Pond Boss Magazine, just not sure how it works. I didn't realize they had their own forum, will have to check it out. Thanks MFBAB! Okay, I checked out their forum and there is a lot of good information, but I can't stand the format of the site. The layout and background makes it difficult for me to work through, I like it here much better. I would still like a pond management forum here for discussion among peers. IMO this site is head & shoulders above the rest and sees a lot more activity than others, so I think it could support this idea easily.

This seems to be a very divisive topic and I can't figure out why. I'm new here, so I may be missing something. I would like to make a specific suggestion akin to what I posted about earlier in this thread. New Forum Name: Pond Walkers, Bank Stalkers, and Pond Management Forum Description: Everything pond and bank fishing, including discussion on pond management techniques. Link to articles from pond management experts and discuss what works/what doesn't when managing smaller, private waters. I would be happy to add plenty of content and pictures on pond management and fishing. I've scoured every article in the fish and lake management section of Bass Resource and it's a big reason I love the site. I would definitely like to have a place to talk about it now that I'm getting into the practice of pond management on my own property. This is VERY different from fishing public lakes and large waters, lots of the philosophies for big lake fishing go out the window when you're trying to manage your pond for your specific goals. I think bringing these like-minded individuals together in this forum would be very beneficial to the site. There is already an entire section of articles devoted to it here, why not discuss it?

How about a pond and small private lake management forum? There's a great resource page with tons of articles here on Bass Resource about pond management, but there's nowhere to discuss it. I have just gotten into pond management and that's how I found this forum (through the articles here: http://www.bassresource.com/lake-management/) I could see this overlapping with fishing the ponds and small private waters to have enough content for a new forum. I for one would like to have a forum page dedicated to pond management discussion and would be happy to have the discussion of fishing these ponds included in it. Just my 2 cents.

Standard average weight for a healthy 24 incher is 8.52 lbs, but most aren't average. Hard to tell the girth from the picture, but I would guess closer to 7-7.5 lbs., especially if caught in a pond that isn't managed for trophy fishing - most fish will be below average unless their forage supply is kept up really well.

If you do go, make sure you do something extra nice and it has to be in advance of leaving. Tell her it is a thank you for letting you go fishing. Then she will feel guilty if she asks you to stay since you were so excited that you did something special for her just for the offer. Also probably want to invite her along, she will likely refuse since she wants to sleep in, but at least you put it out there that you want to be with her too. I offer to take my wife hunting and fishing all the time, she rarely takes me up on it (and she does enjoy doing it), but I'm not leaving her out either. My life is much better because of these practices.

Need to cull the ones this size from our private lake, so it was a good day. Fished a lure I got for Christmas (Rose Kuli 3.8" rainbow) and it was the only thing they were biting. Biggest caught was 2.02 lbs and 16 inches, rest were right around a pound each.

Fort Smith here.

Shouldn't this be in the fishing tackle forum?? Ha! Great spread of baits! Now I have the urge to go get some myself!

They are plentiful in the bayou just over the levy, catch em on my yo yos all the time when catfishing. Plus we feed them fish guts under the dock when we clean some bass or crappie to fry up. I've read some articles and watched some video on how to clean and eat them, but haven't tried yet. Apparently you have to clean and eat them pretty fast or the meat turns to mush. we don't like to waste anything we catch and must harvest out of the stocked lake to keep our bass population in check and grow those trophies. I feel a little better now about them being in the stocked lake. I might just move them over to the bayou for now.

Thanks everyone!

I've got a private lake I fish quite often that was created by expanding a couple of old natural sloughs near a bayou. Well, the rotenone treatment on the sloughs didn't kill all the grinnell, so this stocked bass lake has them still. I scoured all the articles in the pond management section, but there's nothing that tells if these guys can really harm your bass population. Does anyone have experience with grinnell in small fisheries or have you seen them cause major problems with your sportfish?

Hey guys, longtime lurker, thought I'd join the fun. I live in western Arkansas and fish all over the state, but mostly stick to private ponds/lakes. Have enjoyed all the articles here and seems like a lot of good people. Hope to keep learning a lot more. I grew up fishing with my dad and older brother, just got back into it pretty heavy and look forward to keeping it up with my young sons. I've got the bug bad now and the bait monkey follows me everywhere. Anyway, I'm here to learn and share experiences. Thanks for having me!