Bluegill for bass pond

[stubbex1]

Does anyone know if it is possible to buy live bluegills that aren't sterilized? Is it even legal? I have a two acre pond i'm thinking about stocking to help the bass grow larger. Anyone have some input on this? Or should I be doing something different?

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

 

[cityfisher]

that will work... what id really recommend is getting a couple fat perch pregnant females... that will help with the bass population in the pond!

[Garfisher]

Look for aquacultures/fish stockers who have bluegills. I know there's one in Kinmount that has bluegills and pumpkinseeds and other fun stuff, but that would probably be waaaaay to out of range for you.

[OhioFisherman]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_shiner

 

One of the ponds in my area with the biggest bass? has a population of Golden Shiners swimming around. Some of them rascals are over 10 inches long, so a breeding population with some to big for most bass to eat.

 

The problem I see with bluegill or even crappie in some pond here is they put in too many and they have a tendency to become stunted in size. They are also more likely to compete with bass, especially small ones for available food.

[stubbex1]

Update on the pond (I should have put this on my original post)

 

 

I'm on a farm, and had an area where it was too wet to plant any crops. Got a permit/grant with the help of ducks unlimited to dig it up and create a wetlands/pond for waterfowl. It worked out really well, we planted water plants, trees and within three years have a pretty nice corner of our property. A farmer friend of mine has a pond that has largemouth in it has a problem of too many bass and not enough to eat. Nothing over a 1 1/2 pnds. No forage fish. I don't want the same problem he does.

 

Thanks for the info one bluegills and shiners. After reading the wiki maybe shiners is a better route to take.

 

Now to find a supplier for some golden shiners.. Off to google i go!!!

Edited August 31, 2012 by stubbex

[aplumma]

I manage a 30 acre pond and a forage for bass is shiners not bluegill. They will eat bluegills but it is not preferred due to the spinny fins. You can also consider Crawfish as a good forage base for bass if you have a creek head for them to breed in.

 

 

Art

[livinisfishin]

In the reading ive done when it comes to bass and bluegill ponds when you have lots of stunted bass you need to thin the heard . I think you figure out the average aize of the bass and cull any smaller then that number.

So say any under 10" are out..most of the reading ive done is from the states so their average size of fish are probably larger then here. Once you start culling the fish you ate creating more room in the pond for the bass to grow bigger and also there will be more food available. The other thing is when a pond is built stock it with forage fish first and let them reproduce before stocking other fish to get them established. Since this pond you are talking about is existinf you probably shouldntnjust throw in pounds and pounds of minnows because they will just become a snack for the bass and wont have a chance to get established quite like they would in a new pond. Ive read that bluegill are good for the bass to eat . The bluegill reproduce consistently and grow big enough to become a main staple in the bass diet.

 

 

Before you do anything go onto his site and spend a good day or two reading. Dont quote me on the info ive given but its just what ive picked up off the site ive posted. Hope it helps.

 

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php

[Rich]

Baitfish are as important to introduce as predators to thin the herd of small bass. Perhaps some pike in your pond may help more than you think. And i agree, big shiners or shads = big pond bass!

[OhioFisherman]

Shad are probably too temperature sensitive for a two acre pond, they even seem to have problems here in the spring on the tributaries of Lake Erie when the water warms too quickly and can have some pretty huge die offs.

 

Emerald shiners don`t seem to do well in ponds here, one they seem to need a high oxygen content in the water and room to roam, cooler water holds oxygen better. They never reach a size where even small bass can`t eat the biggest ones. Fathead minnows are also sold here, they are tough, but their size makes them food year round.

 

The county I live in here has the largest amount of farm ponds, and ponds in general of any other county in the state. Tractor Supply Stores (TSC) usually has in their ads here a couple of times a year when they sell fish for stocking, including minnows.

 

I have seem people here, and know people that buy 10 pounds of minnows a couple of times a year for their ponds. Most though make the mistake of buying fatheads, it is fun to walk the edge of a pond and see the bass following the school of fatheads, any that venture into water deep enough for the bass to get them are gone. The same with the Emerald shiners, one I don`t think they handle the temps of shallow water in the summer well, and their size means the are food for everything.

 

I did a lot of fishing at times with live bait over the years, soft ray fish such as Golden shiners and other species of the minnow family win hands down over bluegill or even perch. I have found bass and even pike up north dying because the got a perch or bluegill tail first and the spiny fins opened.

 

Real small bluegill or perch don`t have the spiny fins yet, they get eaten like small minnows. Using bigger ones can be a real waiting game, fish seem to look at them as a last choice?

 

Suckers? They seem to only be found here in running water or big water, again oxygen content? They never where my favorite baitfish to use, and seemed to work better for walleye than anything else. Perhaps because they seemed to spawn around the same time as walleyes? so they were in the same areas as a food source?

 

Big chubs? always had good luck with them, a decent size bass will take a 6-8 inch chub though, a narrow body. I have seen and caught chubs here 10 inches long, probably to big for most of the bass in this area. They might need a stream to breed though? Bait stores here don`t like to sell them, they have issues with them jumping out of the bait tanks.

 

Just throwing out ideas, and yes the best way would to have put golden shiners in a few years before the bass. Although we have some lakes and ponds here that have a very good population of them.

[stubbex1]

hmm decisions... Last year I threw 7 or 8 1lb bass in the pond. I wasn't sure if they had survived at all. I know there are a ton of frogs in the area, and there are always alot of bugs floating on the surface. Last week I took the dog swimming, and I noticed something small jumping out of the water all over the surface. After a closer look they were small (1 1/2 inch) fish going after insects. They were swimming in schools around the shore edges. I'm guessing the bass have spawned and those are the fry?

 

I'm thinking of taking my chances and buying some minnows somewhere and throwing them in there and see what happens. If they get eating, no skin off my back. I don't think the fish are too hungry yet, as there seems to be lots to eat.

 

Thanks everyone for the input so far.

[OhioFisherman]

Stub, just curious, how deep is the pond? small bass will eat anything, bugs included. They are popular because they seem to do well in fairly small ponds. Most, if not all of Ohio`s record L/M bass since the 50`s have come from farm ponds. Most of the public waters here get far to much fishing pressure for them to attain record size.

 

The really bad winters on the 70`s did affect a lot of the shallower ponds here, it wasn`t unusual to walk the banks after the ice melted and see massive fish kills from oxygen depletion, deeper ponds didn`t seem to have an issue.

 

A lot of people here with shallow ponds now have some sort of electric or wind bubble system to help keep oxygen in the water.

[aplumma]

You also can leave a section of the pond grasses from the shore out to 20 or 30 feet out uncut. This allows insects to get to the edge of the water and become a free source of food. I have also collected frog eggs from other places and planted them in the water in the spring. The final way to help is to screen off a section with wire fence and put branches in the penned area for the fry to have a haven from being fed on. All of these are very inexpensive but will yield big rewards.

 

 

Art

[musky_hunter]

my mom used to live on a farm with 2 big ponds, each were stocked with smallmouth.

 

was a blast to visit and go fishing....no huge fish, about 2 lb max.

 

it was easier than hell to catch them, all you needed was a spinnerbait or jig and grub.

[stubbex1]

Stub, just curious, how deep is the pond? small bass will eat anything, bugs included. They are popular because they seem to do well in fairly small ponds. Most, if not all of Ohio`s record L/M bass since the 50`s have come from farm ponds. Most of the public waters here get far to much fishing pressure for them to attain record size.

 

The really bad winters on the 70`s did affect a lot of the shallower ponds here, it wasn`t unusual to walk the banks after the ice melted and see massive fish kills from oxygen depletion, deeper ponds didn`t seem to have an issue.

 

A lot of people here with shallow ponds now have some sort of electric or wind bubble system to help keep oxygen in the water.

 

 

The pond was dug about 10 feet in the middle. It was holding and maintaining water really well until this spring when my dog ripped the drain tube out of its socket. The pond dropped 3 feet in 2 days. With the dry summer we've had it hasen't dropped anymore, but it hasn't come back up either. Hopefully we have a wet fall (once crops are off) so it comes back up. There is lots of vegetation, and across the road there is a swamp with a drain pipe that runs underneath the road which feeds the pond. Is ten feet too shallow to run without an aeration systom?

[OhioFisherman]

10 feet? I am really not sure, I am guessing that the severity of the winters plays a large part in it. I haven`t seen a really bad fish kill from winter effects here since the 70`s winters. Some though seemed to lose most of the quality fish in their ponds during those.

 

I recall going with a friend to check out the ice conditions on one of our favorite ponds to fish about 3 miles from my old home early one spring after the bad winters of 77-78.

 

The pond had been built by the state to get dirt for the Ohio Turnpike overpasses and was six or eight acres. No one was allowed to put a boat on it and I have no idea how deep it actually was, but you couldn`t find 6 feet of water on any cast from shore.

 

The pond had a 24 inch overflow pipe, and it was late March or early April, there must have been 200-300 dead bass floating around the overflow pipe. A lot of them over 20 inches, and some bigger than any we had ever caught there, it was a sad sight! It was though one of the worst winters on record here, extreme cold and lots of snow.

 

Not sure how things work up there, your soil and water conservation office might give you good free advice if you have them?