Alot has changed at my sister's pond in the 2 years since I last fished it.
Moss and algae have taken over half the pond, making that half completely unfishable. Aquatic vegetation has choked out much of the pond's clear sand and rock bottom.
There is another, perhaps larger, problem as well. There is now a massive predator/prey imbalance causing a big problem for the health of the pond. The gills are mostly stunted and there are more of them than the pond can sustain and the bass are seemingly non-existent. Where we used to be able to see catfish cruising under the south treeline, all that is visible now is muddy, greenish muck and loads of tiny gills.
My brother in law gave me a directive: Catch and kill as many bluegill as you can!!!
So tonight, I took Buck to my sister's and we grabbed my twin nieces, Cora and Madison, a shovel, and 4 fishing rods.
Water was murky and brownish green, water temp was roughly 70 degrees. Turns out we didn't need 4 rods because the only fishable area of shoreline was only large enough for two anglers.
Ended up only using my UL, and we all took turns catching fish.
Between 7:15 and 8:00, I dug worms, baited hooks, and took fish off the line for my son and nieces. The gills were mostly all small with big bug eyes, with the exception of one large and very pregnant female Buck caught. After digging worms, we fished for a total of about a half hour, 8 fish landed. The girls (while they love to go down to the pond and fish) had no idea how to consistently hook up. Their rods are bulky, old, and have 5 year old line that is knotted and brittle. They marveled at my UL rod and hyper-sensitive stick bobber.
They had no real concept of setting the hook and had relied previously on the fish taking the bait and setting the hook in they'd gills or deeper. By the time they had each missed 4 or 5 fish each, they caught on quickly. Each kid caught 2, except Buck who caught just one and was content to watch his girl cousins catch fish and squirm when I made them hold the fish for pictures. Besides.... He caught the nice 7.5"er and knew, somehow, that it wouldn't be beaten.
We kept all 8, per my brother and sister's request and I fileted them up a few minutes ago.
I have a bunch of great pix. But can't seem to get anything to upload anywhere right now. I will try to find some WiFi tomorrow to post pix.
We have our work cut out for us, clearing a chunk of the gill population out of there... If we are successful, they will treat for the algae and moss this winter and restock predators in the Spring. If we fail, he will drain the pond and start all over with all new fish next year.
Pix coming when I can get to the internet.
Moss and algae have taken over half the pond, making that half completely unfishable. Aquatic vegetation has choked out much of the pond's clear sand and rock bottom.
There is another, perhaps larger, problem as well. There is now a massive predator/prey imbalance causing a big problem for the health of the pond. The gills are mostly stunted and there are more of them than the pond can sustain and the bass are seemingly non-existent. Where we used to be able to see catfish cruising under the south treeline, all that is visible now is muddy, greenish muck and loads of tiny gills.
My brother in law gave me a directive: Catch and kill as many bluegill as you can!!!
So tonight, I took Buck to my sister's and we grabbed my twin nieces, Cora and Madison, a shovel, and 4 fishing rods.
Water was murky and brownish green, water temp was roughly 70 degrees. Turns out we didn't need 4 rods because the only fishable area of shoreline was only large enough for two anglers.
Ended up only using my UL, and we all took turns catching fish.
Between 7:15 and 8:00, I dug worms, baited hooks, and took fish off the line for my son and nieces. The gills were mostly all small with big bug eyes, with the exception of one large and very pregnant female Buck caught. After digging worms, we fished for a total of about a half hour, 8 fish landed. The girls (while they love to go down to the pond and fish) had no idea how to consistently hook up. Their rods are bulky, old, and have 5 year old line that is knotted and brittle. They marveled at my UL rod and hyper-sensitive stick bobber.
They had no real concept of setting the hook and had relied previously on the fish taking the bait and setting the hook in they'd gills or deeper. By the time they had each missed 4 or 5 fish each, they caught on quickly. Each kid caught 2, except Buck who caught just one and was content to watch his girl cousins catch fish and squirm when I made them hold the fish for pictures. Besides.... He caught the nice 7.5"er and knew, somehow, that it wouldn't be beaten.
We kept all 8, per my brother and sister's request and I fileted them up a few minutes ago.
I have a bunch of great pix. But can't seem to get anything to upload anywhere right now. I will try to find some WiFi tomorrow to post pix.
We have our work cut out for us, clearing a chunk of the gill population out of there... If we are successful, they will treat for the algae and moss this winter and restock predators in the Spring. If we fail, he will drain the pond and start all over with all new fish next year.
Pix coming when I can get to the internet.