# Need A couple Of Flat Heads



## RichsFishin (Nov 4, 2007)

Does anyone know where I can get 4 flatheads to put in my ponds to thin out my OVER POPULATED bluegills ? Thanks.................Rich


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## dinkbuster1 (Oct 28, 2005)

ask again in May, someone can help you by then


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## fishdealer04 (Aug 27, 2006)

dinkbuster1 said:


> ask again in May, someone can help you by then


lol very true

I am sure those flatties will put a hurtin on the gills....


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## dinkbuster1 (Oct 28, 2005)

in case you didnt know, flatheads are dormant this time of year. they will become active and are regularly caught after mid April. i could get you a few small Flats after May if you wanted to make the drive to Dayton. i am sure someone closer to you can get you a few smaller ones. 

be warned though, the smaller the flathead the more viscious they are. i have seen 5lb flatheads swallow, or try to swallow fish not much smaller than they are. if you have bass in your pond they may just get eaten as well.


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## JIMS SVT (Aug 19, 2004)

My pond was over run with yellowbellys.I put about 5-6 flatheads in there.Seen to not catch any of the yb anymore.So they did there job.


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

As far as buying some, none of the reputable hatcheries carry them and most will not recommend them in a pond situation as they can really do some major damage by eating everything, and I do mean everything, including bass, frogs, turtles , ducks etc. If you really need to buy some, talk to a local paylake and see if you can order a few so when he gets his shipments, you can pick out a few 3-5 lbers, I dont think Id go any bigger as those guys will devour a 8" bluegill with no problem, this may protect some of your larger bass for a while while the flatties get used to feeding on 3-5" gills. I would suggest another approach such as starting a light feeding program and then in the frenzy, cast net them out 100 at atime. Youll only get 2-3 shots a night so make sure the throws are good. Id also suggest having some local neighbor kids have open fishing permission but they have to keep every gill they catch, or throw them in a bucket you have so you can add to your garden/trash. Problem with flatties is they will do there best to spawn in a pond with any structures and that, my friend will be a real problem. 
If you can sex the fish, try to get all males and after a year or two, Id think I would try to trot line them out of there none the worse for there wear! Would be interesting to mark them and see how much they could grow in an unlimited food situation. 

Since you have an over abundance of gills, I am curious what shape your bass are in?? healthy, stunted I am guessing since there probably isnt enough bigger bass ( >14") to keep up on the bluegills, am I right?? if so, time to start weaning the smaller bass out as well so the others can get bigger, perhaps stockinga few 10" bass if there are hardly any bass in the pond right now. Lots of reasons on how this happened and lots of ways to try to fix, a pond is a full time job in learning propper anagement tools to fix problems, I enjoy tweeking the way my pond works and now, 3 years in, I am about to start culling all my cats, I catch and start re-adding a ton of Fathead minnows for the black crappies. 

Salmonid
You might also stock


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## bassangler120 (Mar 19, 2007)

Here is a idea that works like a charm. A friend of mine had a 2 acre pond with the same problem. He considered putting pike in it to do the same thing u are trying to do. Someone suggested talking to the someone in the amish community about comming out and get some Free fish. There is no faster way to clean out a ton of gills than to let about 10 amish folks come and fish. They will take every gill they catch.


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## RichsFishin (Nov 4, 2007)

Thanks for the replies . Our bass population is really nice actually. It is nothing to go out and catch 2 to 3 pounders all day long. My best is a 22 inch 6pounder. I have seen bigger like 7 and 8 pounders. I have been trying to thin the gills out for the last 3 years. I know I have taken at least 400 out of our one pond and probaly another 200 out of are other one. We have 3 ponds that I would say are about 1acre or maybe a little bigger. Thanks again and might have to hit you guys back up come May.........Thanks........Rich


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## dinkbuster1 (Oct 28, 2005)

better yet, try and get a hold of some "wipers" (a white bass/stripper hybrid). those things will do a number on small 'gills, even better than flatheads IMO and they wont eat the other Bass in your pond.


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## [email protected] (Dec 22, 2006)

Rich, if your catching 2-3lb bass with some up to 6lbs. what exactly are you trying to change? Good catch rates of bass that size would be pretty good in most pond owners eyes.


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## RichsFishin (Nov 4, 2007)

My problem is too blue gills. There only reaching Maybe 6 inches and is nothing to catch 100 an hour...............Rich


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## [email protected] (Dec 22, 2006)

I would use extreme caution when adding another predator into a pond whether it be flatheads, pike, or even hybrid stripers. Anytime a new predator is introduced it's going to reduce available resources for existing predators. 

It's pretty hard to have a pond with excellent bluegill and excellent bass. Generally, to improve one species, you have to tip the balance in favor of one thus making it less favorable for the other. Your 6lb bass is average weight for it's length. If you want to maintain the good bass fishing and improve the bluegill size I would consider trapping the bluegill and removing all you can between 5" and 7" and stock golden shiners in proportion to the weight of bluegill removed over the next year then assess again next year. The shiners will hopefully maintain the bass and possibly eat some bluegill eggs too. Large shiners are sometimes caught by fishing so there is a small chance they could become a nuisance like small bluegill. And as Mark said, feeding pellets will give all of the fish a boost too.

Or do you not care about bass fishing and just want excellent bluegill?


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## smoothkip25 (Nov 17, 2008)

I agree with Mark. A friend of mine threw two flatheads in his pond and within a couple of years there was nothing left but a few monster bass and a few Grass Carp. Nothing is safe from a Flathead! I wouldnt even let small children swim in there! LOL! Seriously Though if you want a good productive pond stay away from the flats they will eat everything!


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## Steelhead Fever (Dec 31, 2009)

u wont get rid of a ton but you could catch them and put them on a bigger hook and have some fun and catch some of them big bass u have in there


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