IN MY POND WE HAVE ONLY BEEN CATCHING SMALL BASS LATELY, EVEN THOUGH LAST YEAR EVERY OTHER CAST WOULD BE A 5POUNDER. WE STARTED CATCHING THE LITTLE ONES EITHER USING THEM FOR CATFISH BAIT (AFTER BEING CUT UP OF COURSE) OR PUTTING THEM IN A NEW POND THAT WAS DUG UP THIS SUMMER. IT HAS SEEMED TO HELP SO FAR.

my cousin and i have been somewhat working on 2 ponds... one is WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY overstocked and you'll catch a bass about every other cast.. and its full of moss too.. we've caught bass and ate them (there's thousands of them in there) and also tried to stock other ponds with bass. eventually we might try to get bluegills in there or something along those lines...

he's also got this little pond by his house and that will eventually be a success story.. we've got the bass growing more these dayz so hopefully it will be a decent pond soon.. and we got crappie in it 2 years ago i think.

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Been working on my own pond problem. First, what I thought was algae was identified as duckweed. The chemicals to control this is expensive, up to $300 per application for a small pond like mine. At a sports show, I was told that the grass eating carp (white amurs) would get the job done. I already used some to fix another weed problem and they worked. I was told that they eat less as they get larger and that mine were probably not eating enough to control the duckweed. I'll try more grass eaters, but it takes a couple of years to work. Still, better than expensive chemicals.

This is what I have been told about the things mentioned on this post:

Pond turn-over- Happens when the water temp reaches a certain level, causing the algae on the bottom floor of the impoundment to break loose and float to the surface. Any moss or waterweeds will break loose, also floating to the surface. This in turn, affects the fish activity due to the change in the pond. I have also been told that it causes existing algae to rot or decay, depleting the water of oxygen, making the fish sluggish. As for fish being "belly-up" upon return after a storm. I know (unfortunately) that what probably happened to you was that the pond was struck by lightning during the storm. This happened at the neighbors pond. I would not have believed it if it was not for seeing it happen one afternoon.


Over stocked waters- The other thing mentioned on this post about keeping smaller fish out when caught, adding bluegill, sunfish, and channelcats to the waters will also help bring a pond back to life as far as the fish size go. Even a pond of only about an acre or two, with ideal conditions as far as balance in fish populations, is hard pressed to "fish out" with normal fishing by a few, and when all caught is kept.


Moss problems- The best way to fix a moss problem is to call your local fish and wildlife department and get information on grass carp. Applying any chemicals to water, in my opinion is never an option. We called the the fish and game dept. of our state, and just doubled the amount of grass carp recomended. When all of the moss was staring to be pretty much wiped out, we then removed some of the carp as to not completely remove all moss, but to keep it in check. Some moss is needed for cover, as well as trees, brush, ect. Plus, an excellent way to fish surface moss is to take a black lizzard, no weight on it, and pull it across the top of the moss in a very short jiggling motion. You are trying to act like the lizzard is having a hard time getting across the moss. Get Ready!! Big bass come from nowhere through the moss surface to bust the lizzard!!! Heavier line will be needed for this!! Delay setting your hook for a second or two and let the fish run with the lure. This will make sure that the fish has the lure in his mouth. Trust me, it sounds odd, but after the first couple of missed strikes, you will see what I am talking about.


Duckweed- Duckweed is a small, lilly-pad type of plant just a little bigger than the head of a pin. But can cover acres of surface area in just 1 summer season. It is caused by ponds that have unusually high amounts of cattle run-off and in some cases, septic tanks near by that the latterals will eventually have run-off into the water. Duck weed is only on the surface, and besides being a eyesore and makes it tough to fish in, causes no harm to the pond. Grass carp are about the only options here. Fishing the lizzard suggestion above will also work great in this situation.