Farm Pond Management

Introduction   |    Managing Fish   |   Liming   |   Fertilization   |   Feeding Fish   |   Calendar   |   Drawdown   |   Calculations   |   Balance Key

You can enjoy good fishing for years if you follow a sound pond-management program. Building the pond properly, stocking the correct species at recommended rates, having a good fertilization program, and controlling weeds are steps in the right direction. However, continued good fishing depends on harvesting the correct number, sizes, and species of fish each year

Note that much of this information is available in hardcopy format on our Fisheries Publications Page

Fishing

For bass and bream ponds, begin fishing your pond two years after the initial stocking of bream. This will be in the fall, after the original stock of largemouth bass has spawned for the first time. To ensure a balanced fish population, release some of the bass that are caught during the first, and possibly the second, year of fishing. In most cases, after the first year you can remove as many bream as you desire without harming the population.

Most of the fish harvested from the pond should be bluegill and redear sunfish. Bream reproduce throughout the summer and are the most numerous fish in the pond. A general recommendation is to harvest a minimum of 10 pounds of bream for every pound of bass. It is extremely important to keep the bream harvest in line with the bass harvest. Many Mississippi ponds are underfished for bream and can stand a much greater bream harvest. This should ensure an adequate number of bass for reproduction as well as control of the bream. When too many bass are removed, the remaining bass can no longer control the bream, and the bream become over crowded and stunted. Once bream become overcrowded, bass reproduction is reduced or stopped completely. To keep this from happening, use our harvest form to keep a record of the number and size (length and weight) of the bass and bream you and others remove.

If the pond were also stocked with channel catfish, spread the fishing for them over a period of 3 to 4 years. Channel catfish may reproduce, but offspring usually do not survive because of bass predation. Restock with channel catfish when most of the originally stocked catfish have been removed. In a bass and bream pond, it is necessary to restock with 8 to 10-inch channel catfish fingerlings to ensure that these fingerlings are not quickly consumed by the bass. Do not overstock catfish, since overstocking leads to poor growth and possible disease problems as well as excessive competition with bream for food.

Achieving Balance

After the second year, you must decide the kind of fishing experience you want the pond to provide. For example, if you want trophy bream, you must minimize the harvest of bass, to result in a bass-crowded condition. If you want "quality" fishing for both bass and bream, follow the "10:1" rule, harvesting some of all sizes present. This is the management situation that is most suitable for the majority of ponds. Trophy bass fishing will require careful protection of certain sizes of bass, usually through a specified protective slot limit, and also harvest of some of the smaller (10-12 inch) bass to prevent them from becoming crowded.

The balance between bass and bream can often be determined by examining the results of seine hauls and/or by close examination of fishing results. Use our interactive pond assessment tables below to check if your pond is in balance and, if your pond is not in balance, what you can do to correct the problem.