Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk AL Fishing Talk Pond fishing in decline

The fishing in our 3/4 acre pond has been in decline. We had it stocked 4 years ago and the fishing was great. Now, the shell crackers are less than hand size and we have not caught a decent bass in forever. I think the decline has a lot to do with the fact that the bank has zero cover for the little fish. There is no place for them to hide and the bass just wipe them out. I’d like to load up 2 or 3 areas close to the bank with some cinder bricks and other DIY habitat to give the little fish a better chance. But, this is family property and some don’t want to see anything in the water from the bank. To me, it seems that the problem needs to be corrected from the bottom of the food chain up. I’d like to get some advice from those who may have corrected a similar problem.

Because the pond is small, I really don’t want to put a lot of wood structure in it for fear the decaying wood could affect the oxygen levels. I don’t know maybe I’m wrong there. The pond is fed by runoff so I don’t think the water turns over several times a year.

Any advice appreciated.

Keep all the small bass. Add whatever structure you can. Put it out a little deeper so it isn't seen. It needs to be in less than 12ft of water to benefit the bait fish.

We have our lake stocked every other year. They always want us to keep all the spots, crappie, and catfish.

Gotta keep way more fish out of a pond than most realize. Also throw back the ones you want to keep till they reach that common size then set your goals higher. I rid my pond of anything under 2 lbs. been adding a variety size of bluegill all last year. My pond has crappie, green sunfish and largemouth. There were no bait size feeder fish. Took out 100 bass last year and none caught were over 2 lbs. hopefully I’ll see a change. My pond is pretty much identical to what you have

Have Lefthorn, on here, come see you or recommend someone in your area. Sounds to me like you may be overpopulated, but he could tell you for sure. Here's a little light reading that may be of interest, https://www.outdooralabama.com/site...hwater%20Fishing/Pond%20Book%20Temp.pdf.

Yep left horn is the man on pond management.

This manual was very helpful. It said if you can see past 18” then you need to fertilize. Our pond is crystal clear and you can see 20’+ easily. I went up there today and we had a few bags of fertilizer in the barn. The manual said the fertilizer should not contact the bottom of the pond. It suggested cutting the top of the bag off and standing it up in 2-3’ of water. The wave action will disperse it. I had two 5 gallon buckets I filled up and set them both out.

I really appreciate it.

You should do a soil sample to see what kind of fertilizer you need.

Is it worth fertilizing a lake with a spill way ? 2.5 acres. Always water going out

According the guide posted above, you would probably have to fertilize more frequently due to your constant water loss.

That’s what I got out of it also when I read it. I didn’t know with having this covers o we the drain pipes where the water comes from the bottom of that made a difference.

What little I've learned through the years with our pond..... take out way more fish than you think you should, add more cover every few years, fertilize when necessary and keep taking out fish.

This

There is a lot more to it than most think. But fertilizer, structure, and harvest. And don’t believe what you read about harvesting bluegill, unless you want to buy more from me in the future