How to fight stunting in a pond?

[Bob Brewer]

My "pa in law''has three beautiful ponds. You can catch bluegills all day long .but they're all the same size,small! How can I manage the ponds to get some nice gills ? I am sure this has been brought up before but I am new here .Thanks

[10.5" RES Sharon]

can you get on chat so I can talk to you?

[Josh Milczski (Omaha)]

Never done the chat thing, but I could try. Honestly though, you probably want to ask a person who is more knowledgeable about these things than I, like Bruce. How would I get on chat?

[10.5" RES Sharon]

click on chat instead of forums

[Walt Foreman]

You need more predators. You can stock more bass, though it will hurt the average size of the bass; another method, which will not hurt the bass size, is to stock a few northern pike or tiger muskie, two to four per acre. If you live in the North tiger muskie would be better because they're sterile and can't spawn; in the South the pike won't be able to spawn either. I've used this method more than once to thin out overcrowded sunfish populations. Don't stock flathead catfish though unless the lake is very large, thirty or forty acres or more, because they get much bigger even than muskie and have a larger gape and will eat down the bluegill and bass both.

Feeding per the Pond Boss thread will also make a big difference, though population correction is job number one right now for you.

[Dale Fortin]

how many bass do you have in there and other types of fish?

[Josh Milczski (Omaha)]

Dale, she told me in our chat that she stocked 8 channel cats in there up to 16". Am I remembering correctly Sharon? No bass. I suggested more cats and that her 1/4 acre pond would sustain a few bass as well.

[Walt Foreman]

Catfish won't thin out an overpopulated bluegill population. Bass won't unless stocked in large numbers.

[10.5" RES Sharon]

I'm not sure about the CF, that is just what I've seen during feedings. There are only a few 5" BG in there that I have caught. Don't know where any bigger ones would be if there are any. I put in 150 fry in myself. Doesn't seem overpopulated with BG at the present time, but I do wonder what happened to all the big BG. As far as I have been told, no one has put any new fish (except the 150) in there for 10 years, and they only catch CF to eat. In such a small pond, wouldn't bass eat every BG in there?