Hey guys,

I'm new to this site, so if this thread or anything like it has been done before, I'm sorry.

But anyway, here's my dilemma. I have a pond in my backyard that was stocked by the previous owners with bass, various sunfish, some channel cats, and some mosquito fish (a sort of baitfish for the pond). The problem I'm having is this; the bass in the pond are very small. They have been in the pond for about ten years now ( I've fished the pond for 5 years) and I have seen very few bass exceeding the 4 pound range. The previous owner told me to expect this. The pond is pretty small, and I believe there is a sufficent amount of food in the pond. I also know for a fact that the pond is not overpopulated. The fish are never taken out of the pond and are always released back. They are all northerns, no Florida's or mixes. What I was hoping to find on this site was a way to beef up the size of the bass? I'm not sure if this can be done, as we don't want to restock the pond at all. Should we try and add a species (although I'm afraid this would set off the food chain)? Is there a sort of bass feed that the bass would eat to bulk up? Any answer would be helpful.

Thanks!

PB

There may be too many bass in the pond for them to grow any larger. Might want to selectively take some out.

There may be too many bass in the pond for them to grow any larger. Might want to selectively take some out.

I culled the pond last year taking out about 30 14 inchers and smaller. It doesn't seemed to have worked.

If the fish originally stocked were from smaller fish genetics (2-4lb), that's all they will ever be for the most part. Big fish, bread fish, that grow big. That's my opinion.

How big is the pond? You may not have taken out enough.

I watched a small piece about growing big bass in ponds. I thought ti was from this site. Basically, it sounds like you have too many bass.

Mike

You guys are probably right. Is there a way to feed the bass of the pond? Say a specific type of fish food the would eat and the sunfish wouldn't?

You need to contact a good pond manager like Bob Lusk.

Balance is everything and you need to know what you have in the pond to know were to start. Electro shocking survey may be a good place to start.

Tom

How many acres is your pond? Size matters, lol!

http://www.bassresource.com/lake-management

NGaHB

We had this problem with our farm pond, we took alot of little ones out and had it stocked with more baitfish, Im going back up there in October for a week of fishing so I hope what we did helped.

Alright, thanks for the input guys.