wadda you think

[Ponky]

Wadda you think,  ponds get over fished to the point of changing the fish population ? A pond I've fished for over 40 years seems to have changed over to mostly pickerel. I used to catch large bass 6-7lb regularly.  I don't think people are catching and keeping, but maybe. Have any thoughts ?

[PyroZuki]

I think it's absolutely possible. There's a pond local to me that used to have a healthy population of ling, but more and more people found out and now they are pert near extinct. Sadly, often people don't learn about which fish are the best breeders and will just keep any, or all that they can.


Pyro

[lowaccord66]

In some fisheries, yes. 

[PyroZuki]

Another consideration.... Pickerel have the same diet as Northerns. So, without anyone takin them and keepin their population under control, they will continue to eat the smaller fish. Therefore, much less larger fish over time.


Pyro

[Ruimachado]

Well, pickerel is native and bass isn't...they just reclaiming what was their all along

[fishermantim]

By targeting bass, they are interfering with their regular feeding cycles, and that can give the pickerel fry enough time to get too big to be considered by the bass.
Then the pickerel turn around and target everything else so that the bass fry are not the target of the pick's

That happened at a pond in Westford, and they started encouraging anglers to remove as many small pickerel as they want/could.
At its worst, you could run thru dozens of shiners and catch a multitude of 8-12" picks. It was sad.

Then they cleared out some of the weeds and had people cull what they could.

Now the pond has a somewhat balanced population.

[bogtrotter]

I think it's absolutely possible. There's a pond local to me that used to have a healthy population of ling, but more and more people found out and now they are pert near extinct. Sadly, often people don't learn about which fish are the best breeders and will just keep any, or all that they can.
Pyro

I'm sorry - - but what the heck are "ling"? 

Whatever they are, we don't have them out here in MA. 

[Gansett]

One of my favorite fisheries gets slammed by tournaments during the spawn, the bass population has noticeably changed in my opinion.

Females get pulled off their beds, the eggs become vulnerable.

[THE JIGGER]

I'm sorry - - but what the heck are "ling"? 

Whatever they are, we don't have them out here in MA.

I'm assuming it is a fresh water cusk which we have in Ma,Ct, NH and Me

[meandcuznalfy]

I'm sorry - - but what the heck are "ling"? 

Whatever they are, we don't have them out here in MA.

Burbot, cusk, lawyers, whatever they're called in your neck of the woods, called ling in Montana.

[PyroZuki]

Burbot, cusk, lawyers, whatever they're called in your neck of the woods, called ling in Montana.

Exactly this. Thanks, meandcuznalfy.
I reckon eelpout is among that list of common names.


Pyro

[PyroZuki]

I'm sorry - - but what the heck are "ling"? 

Whatever they are, we don't have them out here in MA.

Seems like they're rare in yer state.

"Rivers and streams
Rivers and large streams in Massachusetts are home to many kinds of fish, including sportfish like northern pike, bowfin, and white catfish, as well as rare species like burbot. "


https://www.mass.gov/info-details/masswildlifes-fish-conservation-activities


Pyro

[musky-man]

Only place to catch 'ling" aka borbout in mass is the ct river

[IceDog88]

I’ve been out to a bunch of places that are well known for groups of people going out and filling buckets of everything and anything no matter what they are and sizes. It doesn’t matter. The quality of the fishing suffers. Sad.

[THE JIGGER]

Only place to catch 'ling" aka borbout in mass is the ct river

Also colbrook resevoir

[rdhammah]

One of my favorite fisheries gets slammed by tournaments during the spawn, the bass population has noticeably changed in my opinion.

Females get pulled off their beds, the eggs become vulnerable.

Personally, I think tournaments should be banned during the spawn

[lowaccord66]

I’ve been out to a bunch of places that are well known for groups of people going out and filling buckets of everything and anything no matter what they are and sizes. It doesn’t matter. The quality of the fishing suffers. Sad.

Fish bio I fish with frequently says this isnt the case in many lakes and actually the opposite is true in many lakes.  The lack of recreational harvest on some species causes "stockpiling" essentially too much competition for food and lower growth rates.  A good percentage of lakes in CT (where I live) that were surveyed exhibited excessive stockpiling and low growth rates.

One of the mass lakes we fish is a 600 acre "great pond" that he said angling pressure for panfish could not effect the fishing negatively. 

[scooper47]

That happened at a pond in Westford, and they started encouraging anglers to remove as many small pickerel as they want/could.
At its worst, you could run thru dozens of shiners and catch a multitude of 8-12" picks. It was sad.

Who is "they"? Removing more than five pickerel a day per person as well as any under 15" is illegal. Even the DCR couldn't recommend that without a change in the law. I know other ponds where I wish it was possible. Pequot Pond especially.

[Ponky]

My brother called me after he read my post and thought it was cyclical only...Bass are in charge first until the pickerel can move in after the bass decline...then the bass make a resurgence when the next generation of bass can take over, for what ever reason.  What made me think of this is fishing two ponds I've fished my whole life...Last week, my wife and I fished a small pond just to the south of Boston and caught 3 bass5.5, 3.5 and 1.5lb...We were somewhat shocked as we hadn't fished there for a few years and only caught small pickerel...another pond south of Boston always had big bass, my brother caught a 7lb bass through the ice...now all we catch are pickerel...and  we feed them...the pickerel to the seagulls... I hope its only cyclical because at age 73 I might not have time to see the return of the bass...cheers!

[Steve H.]

.now all we catch are pickerel...and  we feed them...the pickerel to the seagulls... I hope its only cyclical because at age 73 I might not have time to see the return of the bass...cheers!

Honestly, I know you're an old timer, but I hate this mentality and it could very well be illegal.  Not against leaving a fish or two out for the eagle, but to kill all small pickerel is wonton waste. 

[Rangerboats391]

too many variables to mention on sustained fish populations for every lake and pond alot of factors involved, including above things. structure, weeds, depth contours, size, baitfish, predators, pressure, water quality, ect.....

[TheJigginJerk]

Honestly, I know you're an old timer, but I hate this mentality and it could very well be illegal.  Not against leaving a fish or two out for the eagle, but to kill all small pickerel is wonton waste.

Killing a lot of the pickerel could make the bass situation even worse as you are removing the predators that keep the panfish population in check. Those panfish eat the bass eggs and fry.

[Ryan51993]

I've been to underfished ponds that require a hike into and they usually have stunted populations of most species. I must have caught 150 perch on a pond that was a 1 mile hike off the road one day last season and not a single one was over 5 inches long. A lot of those ponds would benefit from some selective harvesting by anglers. But I've also seen an 11 acre pond get absolutely decimated because it got popular on Facebook for being an early ice spot. It would be nice if people could just use some common sense and not fill a bucket with fish if the water body is that small. Keep all the trout you legally can on small ponds but don't take 40 perch every time you're out and expect that to be sustainable. If nobody wants to use common sense we'll end up like Maine with a million different rules for every lake.

[Ryan51993]

I've been to underfished ponds that require a hike into and they usually have stunted populations of most species. Most of them have so many perch you can catch them all day long but you won't find one over 5 inches.. A lot of those ponds would benefit from some selective harvesting by anglers. But I've also seen an 11 acre pond get absolutely decimated because it got popular on Facebook for being an early ice spot. It would be nice if people could just use some common sense and not fill a bucket with fish if the water body is that small. Keep all the trout you legally can on small ponds but don't take 40 perch every time you're out and expect that to be sustainable. If nobody wants to use common sense we'll end up like Maine with a million different rules for every lake.