The construction of small silt retention ponds in the watershed will help settle out nutrients before they enter your trophy bass water. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office for your area can provide information on these and other practices. Fencing livestock from the pond’s edge and watering them from a tank below the dam is also a helpful protective measure. Localized nutrient inputs from feedlots or other sources may be avoided by tilling or constructing a water diversion terrace below the nutrient source to direct its runoff away from the pond. Establishing and maintaining a 100 foot or wider buffer strip of grass and trees around the water’s edge will help filter excess nutrients from runoff water. The best pond watersheds are those in some type of permanent cover. Water clarity of two to four feet is ideal.
Extremely clear ponds lack the fertility needed for good fish growth. If your water is too muddy, bass growth will be poor, and you may never produce any bass over 20 inches. Bass must be able to see what they intend to eat. Turbid (muddy) ponds are poor choices for trophy bass management. If they don’t, acceptable numbers of trophy fish will never be produced. Every angler must follow the harvest regulations you establish. If you elect to embark on managing to produce trophy bass, you must closely control the fishing activity. Also, during this management process, the bass you do harvest may be smaller than the size you would prefer to keep. If you follow guidelines provided here, there will be no catfish, and few bluegill, for you to harvest on a regular basis. If you are determined to manage for trophy bass you must realize that your pond or lake will produce few, if any, large bluegill. Managing for more trophy bass requires increased effort over a longer period than managing for balanced fish populations. Such ponds and lakes produce harvestable numbers of good-sized bass, bluegill, and channel catfish on a regular basis providing both good sport and good eating. Any well managed pond or lake whose fish populations are “in balance” will produce a few bass over 20 inches long or weighing more than five pounds.
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