Whether it's big bucks or big bass your're after, a little management goes a long way. Here's how to get started.
 
By Larry Bozka
Page 2

Bear in mind, however, that large, hand-sized bluegills are not a bass' first choice as a meal. Their broad body shape and large, spiny dorsal fins make them much less appealing to the largemouth palate. On the other hand, large bluegills are in essence brood fish.

"One of the big signs of overpopulation of bass is that all you have in your pond is 6-inch-long bluegills and a large number of bass under 12 inches-fish which," he adds, "even at that meager size, have heads that are proportionately too large in relation to the fishes' bodies."

How do you create a big-bass scenario? "When bass get up to the 4- and 5-pound range, being that the bluegill is the primary forage, you have 5-pound fish eating 2-inch-long bluegill. If you want to grow big bass they need large forage fish, and that's where the shad comes in. A shad grows larger in length but doesn't get large girth-wise. Bluegills can easily seek refuge in thick vegetation. Shad, on the other hand, are slow swimmers. As such, they're easily predated upon by the bass. That," he adds, "is one reason why big-bass lakes like Fork and Sam Rayburn enjoy that reputation. They contain tremendous shad populations, and a well-managed private bass lake should have the same. It's sometimes hard to maintain a shad population in a small, clear lake."

Incidentally, if you determine that your lake contains too many oversized bluegills, it's nothing a 4- to 6-weight fly rod and a few popping bugs won't cure. You don't want to overdo it and take out too many of the breeding-sized panfish, but harvesting a dozen or so certainly won't do any harm. It's not only great fun to do so; it'll also provide you with a mess of what I personally consider to be the finest-eating freshwater fish in existence.

Creating and managing a new pond

"In a new-lake scenario," McIntyre says, "you can contact your extension agent and get advice on how much dirt needs to be moved and deal with the watershed and services which can be provided. There are actually government flood-control prog rams for different watersheds through which they'll help pay for the building of your lake.

"Ponds of 1 acre or smaller are hard to maintain for a bass fishery. You can do it," McIntyre notes, "but a lot of people put a feeder on the pier instead and stock the pond with catfish. You can grow the fish fast, catch them easily and, while you're at it, create a fast-action fishing scenario that's perfect for getting children and novice anglers into the sport-not to mention, sending you home with some great-tasting fillets."

As for construction, design the pond so that it contains both shallow spawning areas and deep-water holes for extreme cold-weather refuge. "Also," McIntyre stresses, "remember the structure factor, whether it's weighted Christmas or willow trees, marginal vegetation around the edges and flooded timber.

"As for stocking, you put in 6- to 8-inch bass fingerlings or, if you prefer, 2- to 3-inch fingerlings. With 6- to 8-inchers, stock 30 per acre. With 2- to 3-inchers, up that figure to about 60 per acre. The bigger the fingerlings, the less you stock per acre.

"As far as the forage fish go," he continues, "I recommend stocking 500 1- to 3-inch bluegill per acre and then add 50 4-inch bluegills or redears per acre. You might also add 250 1- to 3-inch redears per acre along with 20 or so 4-inch adults. If you opt for stocking the small 2- to 3-inch bass fingerlings, it's usually best to stock 1,000 to 2,000 fathead minnows per acre. Doing so really helps promote first-year growth of the smaller bass. For the same purpose, we also stock threadfin shad, from 500 to 1,000 per acre.

"Come year three, some decisions have to be made. Your bass can easily become overpopulated, which means you have to either add more forage or go with the cheaper technique and remove some of the smaller bass in order to prevent them from further depleting the forage base and becoming stunted. This," he concludes, "is the point where you have to decide between quality and quantity."

Other factors to consider

Sometimes the Ph content of the water is too low and needs to be chemically corrected. Ph, in essence, is similar to alkalinity. "Water is considered 'acidic' when the Ph concentration is below seven, and 'basic' (normal Ph) when it's above seven. The ideal number is 7.4 because it matches the average blood Ph of the aquatic organisms in the pond. Bear in mind, though, that Ph is not normally a substantial factor except for ponds located in East Texas, where the acidic soils of the region can sometimes present a problem.

Again, don't forget that too much vegetation can be detrimental to your would-be trophy bass Mecca. "The golden rule," McIntyre says, "is about 20 percent coverage."

Finally, don't be surprised when the time comes to catch-and-keep 8-inch-long bass in order to prevent overpopulation, you may well feel a sense of hesitation. Somehow, it just goes against a basser's nature to kill such a tiny fish. So, turn it into a good thing, and let the "catchers" be kids in your family or neighborhood who would benefit from the experience of simply catching bass and, rarer yet, being able to take them home, fillet them and drop 'em in a frying pan.

You'll not only protect the integrity of your lake; you'll also more than likely provide a group of excited youngsters with an experience they'll never forget. Watching it happen is as fun-well, almost as fun-as finally setting the hook on that 10-pound lunker you've worked so hard to create.

(Editor's note: If you're looking to design and stock a new private pond, or simply want to assess and enhance the fishery in a lake you already own-or, would like to become a member at Bieri Lakes-Macky McIntyre is your man. You can reach him at 905 Molina Dr., Angleton, TX 77515. The phone number for Lake Pro is 409-849-2277; fax number is 409-848-2068. The direct line for Bieri Lakes is 409-848-8181.)