# No baby bass



## BuckeyeHunter (Nov 5, 2008)

I moved into a house with a 1.25 acre pond last year. The pond has fish in it. Small bluegill are everywhere. Throw in a worm and you'll catch a 4-6" bluegill in seconds with a bigger one on occasion. But the bass are few and far between but when I do catch one they are all 3-5 lbs. Not that I'm complaining at that size, but I can't find any smaller fish which has me worried that they aren't reproducing. Is there anything I can do to try to create a spawning area? The farm ponds I'm used to fishing I catch a lot of 12-16" fish and a few big ones. It seems weird to only catch like one a day but they're all 3-5 lbs. It ranges in depth from about 5-10 feet in the middle. Has some shallow parts but they're all mud.


----------



## Cajunsaugeye (Apr 9, 2013)

Water depths sound fine. Might need a little structure of some sort in there. That being said,I'd bet they are spawning. A lot of fry may be falling to the bluegill. Thin them out a bit and stock a few more LM in there. Some catfish will help control the gills also. Its all (mostly) about balance of predator vs prey.This is just my opinion though.


----------



## BuckeyeHunter (Nov 5, 2008)

The catfish is probably a decent idea for thinning out the bluegill.


----------



## SelfTaught (Mar 27, 2014)

Interesting topic. My grandparents pond is the same way. He also has a lot of blue gill some hybrids that are huge you literally mouth them with your thumbs to take hooks out. They are the size of shovels lol


----------



## NCbassattack (May 5, 2014)

At this time of year, bass fry are hiding in grass or weeds, and are difficult to locate. Those 3-5 pound fish had to come from somewhere, and those little bluegill are perfect bass food. No question that big bass willl eat smaller ones, so if your pond has little cover you might want to add some. Take some old boards and make a frame, and nail some tree limbs to it, drop it in the shallows, or maybe just some old Christmas trees anchored will work.


----------

