Recreational Fishpond Management Enhancements to basic approaches

Rusty Wright, Extension Fisheries Specialist

Auburn University

Alabama Extension

Pond Management

Why are ponds important?

•Huge numbers of ponds • More than 2.6 million on private land in the U.S.

• More than 200,000 in AL

• More than 50,000 in stocked by AL DWFF

•Potentially influence many species and

landscapes • New habitat

• Altering hydrology

• Altering microclimates

•Recreation and Economic Impacts

•Build it right.

•Eliminate wild fish.

•Stock it by the numbers.

•Maintain fertility.

•Keep out the weeds.

•Harvest, harvest, harvest!

The Basic Principles

Managing for balance

• Sustainable harvest of bass and bluegill

• Good fish growth

• Good quality fishing

Stock it by the numbers

Keep it simple! Stock only largemouth bass, bluegill,

and redear sunfish.

Largemouth Bass

Bluegill

Zooplankton & Insects

Algae

JuvenileLargemouth Bass

Nutrients (N,P) Sunlight

• A fertilized pond will support 300-400

lb/acre (kg/ha) of fish vs 100 lb/acre

(kg/ha) for an unfertilized pond

• Fertilization can help control weeds

To fertilize or not to fertilize that

is the question?

pros

Nutrients fuel the food web.

Largemouth Bass

Bluegill

Zooplankton & Insects

Algae

JuvenileLargemouth Bass

Nutrients (N,P) Sunlight

To fertilize or not to fertilize that

is the question?

cons

• A fertilized pond requires 20-25 lb/acre

(kg/ha) of bass be harvested per year vs

10 lb/acre (kg/ha) for an unfertilized pond

• Fertilization can cause weed problems

• Expense

Beyond Balance

Taking a pond to “the next level”

Norm Haley1, Rusty Wright1, Dennis DeVries1, and

Mike Allen2

Privately-owned small

impoundments of central Alabama:

a survey and evaluation of management

techniques and enhancements

North American Journal of Fisheries Management

32:1180-1190, November 2012

1Auburn University, 2University of Florida

• Alabama’s Black Belt – 17 counties

– Fertile prairie soils

– Meager economy

• Small impoundments – >200,000 in Alabama

– Multiple uses

• Alabama anglers – ~ 850,000

– Over $1 billion of economic impact

• Pond management – Basic management techniques

• Fertilization

• Liming

• Balanced harvest

• Weed control

– Enhancements

• Pellet feeding

• Supplemental forage

• Genetic strains

• Harvest extremes

• Exceptional ponds – Trophy size fish, enhanced catch rates, or instances of both

– Pay-to-fish or leased properties

– Sport fishing resorts

Survey Methods

• Pond owner survey

– 23 counties

– 12 ponds per county randomly selected using map sources

– Owner information gathered from county courthouses

– Owners contacted by telephone

Pond Use

recr

eational fi

shing

livesto

ck

aesthetic

s

no use

s

irrigatio

n

leased

fire fig

hting

aquacultu

re

wildlife

pay-to-fi

sh

Fre

qu

en

cy (

#)

0

10

20

30

40

100

110

120

(111)

(32)

(25)

(9)(7) (6)

(4) (3) (3) (2)

Species Stocked

largem

outh b

ass

bream

redear

bluegill

coppern

ose

catfis

h

grass

carp

crappie

other

no fish st

ocked

thre

adfin sh

ad

minnows

Fre

qu

en

cy (

#)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

120(111)

(97)

(24) (23)

(13)

(56)

(35)

(8)(3)(5)(8)

(10)

Management Strategy

• 76% of owners

are satisfied with

the condition of

their pond

General balance

No management

Trophy bass

Trophy bass & bream

Enhanced catch rates

Aquaculture

Pond Management Information Sources

Primary Sources

Friends and Family 27

County / Regional Extension 25

No information used 21

ADCNR 15

Auburn University 14

Private Pond Consultant 8

Local Feed Store 5

Extension / University Website 4

Other Internet Sites 4

Other 4

Personal Knowledge 3

Outdoor Magazines 2

Additional Survey Results

• 51% never checked for balance or water

quality

• 93% did not keep harvest records

– Slow LMB growth most commonly reported

problem

Techniques and Enhancements

• 48% Fertilized (66% by clarity)

• 45% Applied supplemental pellet feed

• 12% Stocked supplemental forage

– 33% reported stocking threadfin shad

Field Assessment

• Sample ponds that are currently

managed with different approaches

Assessment Methods

ponds were selected based on the following

minimum qualifications:

– Stocked for ≥ 5yrs.

– 5-50 acres

– Contain largemouth bass and bream

Management Strategies Assessed

• Ponds were classified by management

strategy

– Unmanaged

– Fertilized

– Fertilized & Feed: ≥ 1 pellet feeder for

every 5 acres

– Fertilized & Threadfin Shad

– Fertilized, Threadfin Shad, & Feed

Assessment Methods

• Three 15 minute pulsed

DC electrofishing

transects

• Four quadrat seine hauls

• Primary Production

– Chlorophyll a & zooplankton

• Abiotic Collection

– Alkalinity & hardness

– Secchi transparency

– Turbidity

– Temperature & DO profiles

Assessment Results

Proportional Size Distribution

PSD = Number of fish >= quality length

Number of fish >= stock length

For largemouth bass stock length = 8 in (200 mm)

and quality length = 12 in (300 mm)

For bluegill stock length = 3 in (80 mm) and quality

length = 6 in (150 mm)

PSD- Preferred

PSD-P= Number of fish >= Preferred

Number of fish >= stock length

For largemouth bass stock length = 8 in (200 mm) and

preferred length = 15 in (380 mm)

Ranges for PSD and PSD-P,M in

Balanced Ponds

Species PSD PSD-P PSD-M

Bluegill 20-40 5-20 0-10

LMB 40-70 10-40 0-10

Largemouth Bass PSD vs. PSD-P

• PSD did not accurately convey largemouth

bass population states

– General over estimation of population states

– Quality length (300 mm) - too small to predict

bass crowded systems

• PSD-P

– Preferred length (380 mm) - a better predictor

of largemouth bass population state

Bluegill PSD

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

La

rge

mo

uth

Ba

ss P

SD

-P

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Stock Density Indices (PSD/PSD-P)

Balanced

Bluegill

Crowded

Transitional State

Trophy State

Artificially Maintained

Largemouth Bass

Crowded Low Fertility

Competing Species

Foraging Difficulty

Bluegill PSD

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

La

rge

mo

uth

Ba

ss P

SD

-P

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Unmanaged 2007

Unmanaged 2008

Unmanaged Stock Indices

Bluegill PSD

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Larg

em

outh

Bass P

SD

-P

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Fertilized 2007

Fertilized 2008

Fertilized Stock Indices

Bluegill PSD

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Larg

em

outh

Bass P

SD

-P

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Fertilized and Feeder 2007

Fertilized and Feeder 2008

Fertilized & Feeder Stock Indices

Bluegill PSD

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Larg

em

outh

Bass P

SD

-P

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Fertilized and Shad 2007

Fertilized and Shad 2008

Fertilized & Shad Stock Indices

Bluegill PSD

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Larg

em

outh

Ba

ss P

SD

-P

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Fertilized, Shad, and Feeder 2007

Fertilized, Shad, and Feeder 2008

Fertilized, Shad, & Feeder Stock Indices

Stock

Quality

Preferred

Memorable

AA

AAB

B

Bluegill

Unmanaged

Fertilized

Fertilized & Feed

Fertilized & Shad

Fert., Shad, &

Feed

Log C

PU

E (

#/h

r)

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0Stock

A AAB

BC

C

Stock

Quality

AA

AA

B

Stock

Quality

Preferred

AA

AA

B

Electrofishing catch rate of bluegill

Largemouth Bass

Unmanaged

Fertilized

Fertilized & Feed

Fertilized & Shad

Fert., Shad, &

Feed

Log

CP

UE

(#/h

r)

0.0

0.3

0.6

0.9

1.2

1.5

1.8

2.1

2.4

2.7Stock

A A

B

ABAB

Stock

Quality

AAB

BC

DCD

Stock

Quality

Preferred

AA

BCB

C

Stock

Quality

Preferred

Memorable

AA

AB

BB

Electrofishing catch rate of bass

Relative weight

Unmanaged

Fertilized

Fertilized & Feeder

Fertilized & Shad

Fert., Shad, &

Feed

A

AB

BC

CC

Largemouth Bass

Unmanaged

Fertilized

Fertilized & Feeder

Fertilized & Shad

Fert., Shad, &

Feed

Mean R

ela

tive W

eig

ht

(Wr)

80

82

84

86

88

90

92

Bluegill

Conclusions - Pond Owner Survey

• Majority of ponds served as recreational fishing for largemouth bass and bream – Only 7% of ponds were fee fishing / leased

– Fertilizer, pellet feed, and threadfin shad were popular enhancements

• General balance was a strong focus

– Majority of owners were satisfied with their ponds

• Slow largemouth bass growth biggest obstacle

• Very few owners (7%) are keeping harvest records

Conclusions – Field Assessment

• Population characteristics varied greatly

among and within management types

• PSD-P was more sensitive to largemouth

bass population states than PSD

• Owner management goals were rarely

attained

Conclusions – Field Assessment

• Threadfin shad – Positive effect on largemouth bass:

• Length-freq. dist., stock indices, CPUE, condition, growth

– May help to prolong or maintain balanced or quality largemouth bass populations

– Little evidence of neg. impact on bluegill pop. characteristics

• Supplemental pellet feed – Variation within treatment (amount and rate) limits

assessment

Management Implications • Education remains important

• Stocking threadfin shad can improve the largemouth bass population characteristics without strong negative impacts on bluegill

• Pellet feeding may hold potential for increasing the number of quality and larger sized bream

Management Implications

NO MAGIC BULLETT!!!

•Ecosystems have limits

•Ponds could still be bass-crowded with

shad

On-going research

• Recently completed feeding experiments

• Currently using a combination of feeding

experiments, field survey, and stable

isotope analysis to determine foodweb

effects of pellet feeding

Acknowledgements Funding:

• Alabama Agricultural Initiative

• Alabama Cooperative Extension

System

• Alabama Agricultural Experiment

Station

Dr. Michael Allen

The University of Florida

Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences

My current recommendations

for forage enhancement

Forage enhancement for bream

Feed 1 to 10 lb. of floating pelleted catfish

feed per acre per day during the growing

season. Be careful not to overfertilize in

combination with the feed.

Feeding will reduce the effectiveness of

grass carp.

Will pellet-feeding the bluegill

enhance growth and reproduction in

largemouth bass?

STAY TUNED!

What NOT to use as a forage

enhancement for redear

sunfish (shellcrackers)

Corbicula

Forage enhancement for bass

• Temporary

• Sustainable –based on production

• Trophy only

Temporary Forage

Red swamp

crayfish

Fathead minnows

Partially Sustainable

Nile Tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus

Tilapia only where it is legal: check

with your local natural resource

agency. Must be restocked annually in

areas where winter water Temp < 50 F

Sustainable

Threadfin shad, good for ponds 7 – 8 acres

(3-4 ha) or larger. Will winterkill at water

temp. <40 F. Does compete with bream but

may not cause serious reduction.

Golden Shiner, Notemigonus crysoleucas

1. Golden shiners are difficult to

maintain without weeds. Bass

tend to eliminate them through

time.

2. Golden shiners are egg and

larvae predators at high density

Trophy only

Forage enhancement for bass

•Stock threadfin shad in larger ponds.

Shad will compete

with bream, so

expect reduced

bream catches.

MAYBE NOT!

A well-managed pond will provide many

years of enjoyment with catch rates

unequaled in our public reservoirs!

Russell Wright, Extension Fisheries Specialist, Alabama Cooperative Extension System, Auburn University

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