ON NORTHERN! POND

Stocking Scenariosfor Smallmouth Bassby Dr. Dave Willis

Last spring, I took my four niecesand nephews, ages 2 to 13, fish-

ing. We were squeezed into my 16 footLund, and fishing a great pond that wemanage for one of my good friends.Now, these kids are used to qualitytrout fishing. The trout ponds on theirWyomingranch look like typical large-mouth bass-bluegill ponds-clear waterand lots of plants. Man, do those plantsproduce insects that grow big trout!

Spiny-rayed fishes were new tothese kids. Even though we had a 40mile per hour "breeze," they were hav-ing a ball catching yellow perch and afew walleyes. Then, my 13 year oldnephew set the hook and nothingmoved. Tyler was using a light spin-ning rod with 4 pound line. After a 10minute wrestling match, he landed thatsmallmouth bass. Flailing and jump-ing at every opportunity, the small-mouth didn't want to yield. Each timeit cleared the water, all four kidssquealed! How big, you ask? An hon-est 20 incher.

I said it last issue, and I'll say itagain-smallmouth bass are somethingspecial.

There's a variety of managementscenarios to consider using small-mouth bass.

Let's start simply. How about stock-ing smallmouth bass only? Believe itor not, it's certainly possible to managesmallmouth bass singly in a pond. Infact, we currently manage severalponds under such a scenario. Not muchcan go wrong. For pondowners whodon't have time or interest for careful

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management, this certainly is a "safe"option. The first question I always hearis, "What will they eat?" Simple sce-nario, simple question, simpler answer.Smallmouth bass eat insects, cray-fish...and each other. I recall the day Itook one of my "buddies" (well, actu-ally he was my boss) to a "smallmouthbass only" gravel pit fishery we man-age. He tossed a 3-inch Rebel in a basspattern. That lure outfished anything inmy box 10 to 1. Did he share?

Certainly not.My primary problem with small-

mouth bass only is consistent overpop-ulation and "stunting" in South Dakotaponds. High density, slow growingpopulations develop, and few fishexceed 12 inches. A simple solution is"selective harvest." Through anglingor electrofishing, we remove largenumbers of sub-12 inch smallies.

Remaining fish have more foodresources per individual, and growthrates increase. I expect to consistentlyproduce 18-inch smallmouths undersuch a management strategy in a small-mouth-only pond.

While we manage several pondswhere selective harvest removes smallfish to manage size structure, otherpondowners like high density small-mouth bass situations. These "quanti-ty" fisheries are great places for kids tohave high catch rates for 8-12 inchfish. In fact, such waters are a niceplace for kids to develop skills using avariety of artificial lures...to work ontheir "touch."

For our work, small fish removed

are valuable. Anyone priced small-mouth bass lately? They can be movedto other waters to introduce thespecies, or can be used for supplemen-tal stocking programs in waters whererecruitment is low. Our fish often are

used by South Dakota Game, Fish andParks biologists for public waters, ortraded to a local private fish culturist.

Here's an important point. Justbecause smallmouths overpopulateSouth Dakota hill ponds and gravelpits, this may not occur everywhere.Based on comments on the Pond BossForum, smallmouth bass recruitmentmay be more inconsistent in southernponds. Inconsistent reproductionyields missing year classes.

Pondowners can attempt managingsmallmouth bass with additional preyspecies. For introductory stockings,include fathead minnows with finger-ling smallmouth bass. Fatheads pro-vide a good start. However, naturallyslow moving fatheads are quite vulner-able to predators and, in most cases,will disappear within a year or two.Golden shiners grow larger than fat-head minnows, and may be able to per-sist in ponds with smallies. Especiallyso, if the pond has sufficient submer-gent aquatic plants.

I recently introduced orange spottedsunfish to one of our smallmouth bass

only ponds. My graduate advisor, Dr.Steve Flickinger, suggested that idea.Orange spotted sunfish are small mem-bers of sunfish family, and a 4-incheris a big one. With smallmouths andlimited reproductive ability, the shim-

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mering iridescent blue fish with pin-head size orange spots may be a goodtool for smallmouth bass management.They are native to the central UnitedStates, throughout the entireMississippi River drainage, fromNorth Dakota to Ohio, and Alabamawestward into eastern Texas. Because

of their small size, orangespotted sun-fish remain vulnerable to predation byadult smallmouth bass, and we do notexpect them to overpopulate.

As you think of prey species, con-sider fish native to your geography.Fishery biologists in general are doinga lot less transplanting of fishes thesedays, and paying more attention towhat occurs naturally in an area.

What about smallmouth bass with

bluegills? Here's what I have beentaught, and what I have conveyed foryears. Smallmouth bass are not as effi-cient predators as largemouth bass, anda pond managed with smallmouth bassand bluegills will invariably result in a"stunted" bluegill population. Here's atypical scenario of a 3-acre hill pond inthe Midwestern part of the country.

Assume submergent aquatic vegeta-tion covers about 25% of the pond'ssurface area during midsummer at thepeak of plant growth (by the way, sucha coverage is ideal for largemouthbass-bluegill ponds in that part of thecountry). I would strongly recommendagainst a smallmouth bass-bluegillcombination in such a pond. I am cer-tain that the smallmouths would not

control the reproductive capacity ofbluegills in such a habitat type.Bluegills will overpopulate, leading topoor size structure (few fish over 6inches in length). Also, hordes of smallbluegills will drive a nesting malesmallmouth bass crazy as hungry sun-fish harass and fight to eat eggs andfry. Smallmouth bass recruitmentcould actually cease in the face ofoverabundant bluegills. This conceptmight just explain the inconsistentsmallmouth bass recruitment in some

southern ponds. If smallmouths do notreproduce and survive, they will notdevelop sufficient biomass (pounds

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per acre) to control a multi-spawningpanfish species. I often use a similarmethod to teach students about large-mouth bass and bluegill interactions inponds. In a Midwestern pond that con-tains 60 pounds per acre of largemouthbass, most bass will be small « 12inches), and there will be lots of preda-tion on small bluegills. The survivingbluegills will have lots of foodresources, and will grow fast and reachlarge size (8 inches and above). In aMidwestern pond with poor habitat forlargemouth bass recruitment (perhapsmuddy and no aquatic plants), theremay only be 5 pounds per acre oflargemouth bass. This is insufficientbass biomass to control bluegills, andsunfish almost certainly will overpop-ulate.

However, when I see a pond chokedwith overpopulated smallmouth bass, Iwonder if there are some scenariosunder which they might control a pan-fish species. I am still leery aboutbluegills, given their multiple spawn-ing capabilities throughout summermonths.

What about yellow perch? Yellowperch have a more streamline bodyshape (biologists call them fusiform)than compressed saucer shape ofbluegill. Generally, predatory fishmore easily capture and swallowfusiform prey species than compressedones. When I look at one of our gravelpits where smallmouths overpopulat-ed, I have a hard time believing small-ies would not control perch reproduc-tion. Gravel pits are steep sided, clear,with limited aquatic plant growth.Where plants grow, they drop each fall,exposing young perch in the steepsided pond.

It's possible that 75 pounds of small-mouth bass per acre (a realistic bio-mass) could control bluegill recruit-ment in such a habitat type. At thistime, traditional fisheries managementadvice is to NOT stock smallmouthbass with a panfish species such asbluegill, yellow perch, or crappies.Any such attempts should be consid-ered experimental.

Consider smallmouth bass withredear sunfish: Now, here's a combina-tion that I can recommend! In fact, thiscombination is so good (based on myown personal opinions, of course) thatI believe it's a highly overlookedoption for the southern half of thecountry. Redear, also known as "shell-cracker," have a much lower reproduc-tive potential than other sunfishes. Ihave asked biologists from across thesouth if they have ever seen overpopu-lated redear sunfish, and no one has yetbeen able to tell me of a single case.With their lower reproductive poten-tial, smallmouths can keep the redearsin check.

Don Gabelhouse, fisheries chief forNebraska Game and ParksCommission, worked on this small-mouth-redear stocking combination forhis graduate work at the University ofMissouri. Redear are saucer shaped,speckled sunfish, with a orange-redtrim on their opercular flap. Redearsgrow large; 10 inches is common. Theyare excellent table fare. The combina-

tion of a big panfish plus fun fishing forsmallies makes this an ideal combina-

tion, given my personal biases!What about smallmouth combined

with largemouth bass? Start with "tra-ditional" advice from fishery biolo-gists. Do not try to manage a pond bothlargemouth bass and smallmouth bass.These two species don't play welltogether. Once largemouth bass gainentry to a pond or small impoundmentwith existing smallmouth bass, large-mouths quickly out-compete small-mouths. Whether this occurs throughcompetition between the two preda-tors, or the more piscivorous large-mouths simply eat most juvenilesmallmouths produced, is not known. Isuspect both.

While working in Kansas, Iobserved two such occurrences wherelargemouths gained entry to a smallwaterbodybeingmanagedwithsmall-mouths. In both cases, I was astoundedhow quickly smallmouths disappeared.In a couple of South Dakota scenarios,results have not been quite as dramat-

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ie. In both cases, small-mouths actually hung

on in low numbers,and did not com-

pletely disappear.However, large-

mouth bass

now make upa big majori-

ty of blackbass in

these

ponds.

What of smallmouth bass as

"bonus" species in complex fish com-munities? Do not overlook opportuni-ties to use smallmouths as a bonus,rather than primary fish species. Hereare a couple of examples. I manage a22-acre South Dakota pond that has adiverse fish community.We started thepond as a walleye-yellow perch com-bination, because of the pondownersinterest in walleyes, and our need for anew impoundment for walleye andsaugeye research.

Over time, that pond communitybecame complex as bluegills, pump-kinseeds, smallmouth bass, and large-mouth bass were added. Today, small-mouths are able to recruit a few fishyearly. Additionally, the pondowner

sometimes adds a few 8-10 inchsmallies from a nearby small-

mouth-only pond. Low small-mouth density ensures goodgrowth rates. We consistentlyproduce 20 inch smallmouthsin that pond, just not big num-bers of fish. It's the pond Idescribed at the start of thisarticle.

In real world manage-ment, such situations areprobably better suitedfor a supplementalstocking program. Ifa pond contains somany predators, ora variety of pred-ator types,smallmouth

may simplynot be able

to naturallyrecruit.

. "'-

However, adding a few subadult small-mouths may keep them as a bonus fishfor anglers.

Pondowner Norm Kopecky, a PondBoss subscriber who lives in south-

eastern South Dakota, actually keeps asecond pond with smallmouth bassonly so he can continually move a fewsmallies into his primary pond thatcontains a wide variety of predators.

If you haven't fished for smallmouthbass, it seems appropriate to finish bydiscussing how to catch them. Many,many magazine articles and bookshave been written on this subject!

Smallmouth bass are susceptible toartificial flies and lures. About the onlytime live bait works better seems to be

at cold water temperatures. Keep inmind that hooking mortality odds risewith live bait more than artificial lures.Consider circle hooks if or when live

bait is used. Mortality will be lower.Smallmouths can be caught on a widevariety of lure types: crankbaits, stiek-baits, jigs, tube baits, and surface lures.Experiment with different presenta-tions at different times of the day andseasons.

Be sure to include topwater lures inyour tackle menagerie. Very little infreshwater fishing is more excitingthan a giant smallmouth bass explod-ing the surface chasing a top-runninglure.

Fly fishermen drool over small-mouth bass. Try streamers or muddlerminnows when fish are deep, andswitch to surface flies or poppers atsunrise and sunset.

Overlooked Smallmouth bass?Don't.

Look at the time! Our sun is movingtoward the horizon. Gotta go.

Smallmouths beckon.

Dr. David W. Willis is a professor in theDepartment of Wildlife and FisheriesSciences, South Dakota State UniversityinBrookings. He frequents the Pond Bossforum at www.pondboss.com and can be

reached there. J'><~

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