Hey guys,

 

I recently purchased a bunch of land with a 3/4 acre pond.  I have fished in several times and usually catch bluegill, and bass.  The largest I have caught was about a 1 lb Largemouth.  I am no expert fisherman by any means and just today discovered Senkos. My birthday is around the corner and my wife keeps asking me what I want.  I am looking at a Pfleuger President XT 30 reel on a St. Croix Bass X BXS71MF rod.  Is this a good combo?  

 

My buddy who is a very experienced fisherman came out and fished for a while and caught about 8 1-2 lb bass in about a 1.5 hour time frame.  He was saying that more than likely the pond is stunted and the best practice is to throw the lb and less bass on the bank.  Is this a good practice and do you think it will promote bigger bass in the future?  

 

Thanks for taking the time to read this and helping me out!

 

Tyler

Don't throw em on the bank. Eat them. Bass are delicious. It will 100% help. Take 30-40 a year until you get a nice balance of nice sized fish. Don't take out short fat ones. Take out long skinny ones. 

7 hours ago, CroakHunter said:

Don't throw em on the bank. Eat them. Bass are delicious. It will 100% help. Take 30-40 a year until you get a nice balance of nice sized fish. Don't take out short fat ones. Take out long skinny ones. 

Yup, don't waste them.  I am a catch and release angle except when visiting relation in Florida.  We always have a big fish fry before heading home.  Two of us have a mini production line.  Dip fillet in egg (salt and pepper), flour, back into the egg, coat with crumbled up Saltines, layer on cookie sheet.  Cook in deep fryer 3-4 minutes.  Apply desired amount of tartar sauce.  Yum!

First off, congrats on the purchase. Owning your own pond will make you the envy of many fishermen on here. As a novice fishermen who is just learning Senko fishing, the combo you state will be perfect for you now, and down the road in the future. That rod/reel is extremely versatile and will cover almost any presentation you want to fish on your new pond. 

 

Do some searching around on this website and Google. You'll find lots of information on how/what/why bass can get stunted in a small body of water like your pond. Over competition for food in the main problem, which leads to the fish not being able to grow past the 12-13" range. Your best bet is to keep a few of the long/skinny fish in the 10-12" range, and if you want, go buy a pound or two of minnows (fatheads or shiners) and put them in the pond every month.

I agree to try and not waste the fish but you do need to thin the heard if it is overstocked.  If you do not want to eat them, try to find someone who does like them for tablefare.  They make great fertilizer if all else fails.  Also, you need to make sure you thin the Blue Gills and Crappie if they are in the pond.  While they serve as good forage when small, they quickly grow too large for most bass to feed on and they spawn multiple times a year.  They can quickly overpopulate a small pond.  You should call your county extension office or do some searching on the internet for pond management to get some help.  Good luck!!  

I've seen bass grow to 3lbs in a drainage pond at the mall. It's a small pond now maybe 3/4 acre. First the bass were dinks when the pond was first dig out. It's crowded with fish. But the panfish are good food for the bass. It's stream fed so I'm guessing the bass come down the little stream.