Top 5 Mistakes You Can Make Managing Your Farm Ponds

After 15 years of managing farm ponds I share my top mistakes to managing ponds.
▪️Best Bait for Bass Fishing Farm Ponds - • Best Bait for Bass Fis...
▪️Cane Pole Bluegill Fishing In Farm Pond - • Cane Pole Bluegill Fis...
▪️Ice Fishing in Oklahoma after the coldest weather in history - • Once in a Lifetime Ice...
#farmpondmanagement #pondmanagement #pondcare #pondmaintenance #pondfisheries
#pondfishfarming #pondfishpond #pondstock #pondstockmanagement #pondstockbreeding #howto

[@witheringliberal2794]

Geez, I’m glad I found you. I’m just thinking about getting started on this and your advice will save me a lot of trouble. Thank you!

[@BooneBoys]

@Withering Liberal glad to help out. It’s worked for me over last 16 years. Hopes it works for you.

[@anthonylandrum63]

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

[@BooneBoys]

You’re welcome!

[@dtowners9688]

Interesting. Thanks for the info.

[@BooneBoys]

You’re welcome. Thanks for watching

[@CStack2Ci]

GREAT video, thanks! I love farm-pond fishing and enjoyed your comments! (I'm a Univ of IL biologist, and you nailed the species mix part perfectly!)

[@BooneBoys]

@Charles Stack thanks man! A lot of people don’t agree but I’m not a biologist like you just love and learn kind of a deal. I’m working on a flathead and Bluecat pond and see if they can survive.

[@CStack2Ci]

@@BooneBoys Excellent! Big cats will consume immature bluegill, they are a great forage fish. I always wanted my own farm pond, so I'm jealous!

[@osuturfguy9417]

I'm at a crossroads bc I'm currently stocking a new pond and have heard people say not to put crappie or green sunfish in a bass pond but from my personal experience some of the best trophy bass farm ponds I fish have both big slabs and pesky greens in them....

[@BooneBoys]

@OSU Turf Guy it’s probably more of those ponds are an excellent habitat no matter what to grow big bass not that the crappie and Grean Ears are helping it out.

[@mrpush2532]

Good stuff, thanks for tips. I have acre pond w bluegill and Large mouth. Have a 2-3 large bass, maybe 20 inches, then seems like many 8" or so. Bluegill get 8" max. I like the mix now. Thought about maybe a 3rd species, but don't want to mess up what i have now. So no to crappie, but what about some catfish? Can they cause an imbalance? Thanks. Would they wreck my cureent setup

[@BooneBoys]

You’d be good to put catfish in there. Catfish will eat moss, bugs frogs, bluegill, whatever. But they aren’t real competition for bass.

[@markgrauer495]

Excellent .... On the land we will purchase I have to have a pond or two :) thanks

[@BooneBoys]

I hope you get some. Ponds are a lot of fun to have, especially for the kids.

[@GuysGuideService479]

I’ve also caught 5 pounders on crappie jigs though.

[@joshuaclayton6949]

Brand new pond, about 1 acre. I know everyone says to not stock crappie, but that's my favorite fish. I would love to consistently catch nice crappie and nice coppernose bluegill. Would it make sense to stock all 3, as long as I'm fine with small bass?

[@BooneBoys]

I would say yes. Maybe consider not putting bass but put channel cats.

[@inojon0827]

I have a pond behind my house. Hasn’t been fished in years. Recently started fishing it and every bass you catch is lucky to be 1/2 a pound to a pound.. how do I fix it?

[@BooneBoys]

@INO Jon you need to pull out a lot of bass. After that you need to try and catch bluegill and see the population. If you aren’t catching any you need to stick it with some bluegill. This is your best bet to start out.

[@TheLoojlis1]

How do I get rid of bullheads in my pond without using chemical eradication? I was wondering if i should stock some northern Pikes. Thanks

[@BooneBoys]

@Looj Lis where are you located? Bullheads are nearly impossible to get rid of but best way I know is to catch them. But they will only come back over time from birds. We’ve had ponds dry up and then fill back up a couple of years later and within 5 years we have caught bullheads. Crazy.

[@TheLoojlis1]

@@BooneBoys I'm from Wisconsin and I hate to kill all the fish I have just to get rid of the bullheads. I heard Northern Pikes are a good predator for bullheads. Easier to get rid of the Northern pikes after bullheads are gone.

[@isaaccarey4764]

@@TheLoojlis1 Remember, Northern pike are like a natural eradication. They eat and kill everything and will be a complete reset for the pond.

[@tastethe_gravvy1989]

I have a 3 acre pond and I’m trying to decide if I put grass carp in. I currently have a ton of moss. If I decide to put some in, how much do you recommend?

[@BooneBoys]

@Tastethe_Gravvy I would be really careful and error on the side of not having enough grass carp then put another one in later on if you decide it’s not enough. Start with no more than 1-2 per acre. If you put in a 1-2lb grass carp it will seem like nothing, but remember they will be 40-50 lbs before you know and will be the last thing living in the pond come a drought.

[@GermanShepherdDaphne]

Actually grass carp will over populate your pond. They also won’t eat string algae if that’s what you have

[@TheAcenightcreeper]

Triploid grass carp cannot breed…they dont reproduce and they reach a certain weight and drastically reduce their feeding. 1-2 per acre is wrong; should be 8-9 per acre

[@marktapley7571]

I recently saw otters in my pond. How destructive are they to fish populations?

[@BooneBoys]

@mark tapley Otters aren’t They’d be more apt to eat your baitfish, but they definitely eat fish. I wouldn’t be too concerned unless it was a really small pond and you had a family of them. Where I’m at Blue Herons clean us out. I’ve seen them grab 3 lb bass.

[@GermanShepherdDaphne]

I think i screwed up. I have a 1/4 acre pond and spent $85 on 6 largemouth bass 6 bluegill, some channel cats, minnows and crawfish. Well these fish were only 4-5 inches long, i haven’t seen them in over 2 weeks since i released them. I’m freaking out because i have so many stupid frogs in my pond and some are big tree frogs. I also have toads. They sound like baby birds chirping every night there’s so many of em. Well I’m hoping that these frogs didn’t eat my fish. I totally didn’t think straight and should have put fish in the fish tanks to grow first. What do you think?

[@BooneBoys]

You should go catch some larger bass at another pond or lake and put them in the pond big enough where birds or animals won’t bother them, instead would eat the frogs.

[@osuturfguy9417]

Not sure how big the pond is but your fish aren't going to get eaten by tree frogs.

[@pxl3818]

My pond is filled with green sunfish, and bullheads, it also has a great population of fathead minnows and creek chubs it’s about .90 of an acre, how many bass should I put in it?

[@BooneBoys]

@PXL what size of bass were you going to put in there? People will say 100 Bass per acre but I would always start with less unless you really are wanting just high numbers and not going for trophies. If you do stock more you can always take them out later. I would try and get as many bullheads out as you can, but that’s harder than one would think. Let me know how it goes!!

[@pxl3818]

@@BooneBoys I’m not sure what size to start with but we were going to get them from a fish hatchery, Will the bass eat smaller bullheads?

[@BooneBoys]

@@pxl3818 bass would eat a really small bullhead but i wouldn’t count on them to be a good food source. I’m sure you’d be getting fingerlings 7” or so, or you could find a buddy who needs some bass taken out of his pond and stick it overnight with about 30 bass old enough to spawn. You could expect in 2 years to see some of those finglerlings to spawn.

[@pxl3818]

@@BooneBoys ok thank you so much for your help!!! Usually the creators of some of these video don’t respond at all so I am very thankful

[@BooneBoys]

@PXL good luck and let me know how it goes for you.

[@adamUDavies]

What if you like eating crappie ? I recently bought a house with a 3 acre pond and it has a lot of bass , alot of bluegill and I have caught a couple of 12" crappie. The people who owned it before me Never kept anything they caught.

[@BooneBoys]

@adam0U812 if you like eating crappie there isn’t anything wrong with making a crappie pond. It’s more if you’re looking to grow big bass you don’t want them in there. They are ferocious feeders. In lakes, they put walleye in to reduce crappie numbers when they get too high.

[@adamUDavies]

@@BooneBoys Thanks for your video and knowledge , I'm trying to learn as much as I can. I appreciate your help and response. 👍

[@BooneBoys]

@@adamUDavies you’re very welcome. Congrats on the new place!

[@lanerussell569]

Great vid keep up the good work

[@melissaboone9145]

Great info. Thanks for the great video and footage.

[@melissaannboone3639]

Great video. Thank you for sharing!!!

[@melissaannboone3639]

You do a great job on your videos! I enjoyed watching! Thanks James.

[@dainvestments6308]

Hello, I was wondering if you would be interested in helping me with my pond (obviously for hire) but looking for someone to help me get everything under control

[@BooneBoys]

I’ll help as much as I can. You can email me at [e-mail]

[@doyourbest.9554]

Use lay downs...beavers also help dig deeper channels and they are vegetarian and make laydowns for your pond.

[@DIYAllied]

That moss is actually algae.

[@BooneBoys]

You’re right. We a lot of times throw everything in moss category.

[@brodycampbell2990]

Fathead minnows, shiners and rainbow minnows are far from carp minnows. Need to identify what you’re stocking before you just stock whatever bait you think someone is telling you is.

[@loganclunan1110]

Exactly don't put crappy in your pond or catfish

[@BooneBoys]

A lot of people don’t agree with me on don’t put crappie with Bass

[@65stang98]

@@BooneBoys i guess its just bc a lot of people like to eat them. if im going for big bass that are fun to catch no crappie. if i want some crappie sandwiches all the time why not i guess

[@melissaboone9145]

👍😊👍

[@jacktucker7270]

i’ll tell you what

[@greatoutdoorsman2009]

I hope anyone who watched this doesn't listen to this clown. What terrible advice

[@barndawg77]

Care to elaborate?

[@MrMultiPlatform]

Every DNR from every state &/or pond management provider would disagree with almost everything you said.

[@BooneBoys]

I’ve done this for 15 years for 10 of my own ponds. What are you saying is against all DNR suggestions? Not saying everything I said is for everybody, but it works from my experience in Oklahoma.

[@colenado]

​@@BooneBoys Fellow Okie here with a recent purchase of a rock quarry pond. Right now I'm beginning my battle of fighting the algae/moss and green sunfish.

[@BooneBoys]

@@colenado good to hear from you! Nothing more frustrating than moss. You won’t have trouble getting rid of the grean ears. Work fishing or small lure fishing they are more aggressive than bluegill and you’ll load them up in a hurry. I wouldn’t hesitate putting a few grass carp in there to help you out if it’s so bad you can’t fish.