Privately Owned Small Impoundments in Central Alabama: A Survey and Evaluation of Management Techniques for Largemouth Bass and Bluegill

Abstract

Small impoundments or ponds represent important fisheries resources, both recreationally and economically. These systems are small relative to most large public reservoirs and natural lakes and thus they are more easily manipulated to improve fishing quality. The utility of some pond management techniques in improving fisheries is not well understood. We combined a telephone survey and field sampling to quantify the characteristics and use(s) of private ponds in central Alabama and determine the efficacy of the most often used pond fishery enhancement techniques. The three most common techniques were fertilization (used by 48% of surveyed pond owners), supplemental feeding with pellets (45%), and the stocking of supplemental prey for largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides (12%; the species most often stocked was threadfin shad Dorosoma petenense). We sampled 66 ponds using boat electrofishing to assess largemouth bass and Lepomis spp. population responses to these management techniques. Fish populations varied greatly within management categories. However, ponds with threadfin shad exhibited overall greater largemouth bass length, length frequency indices (PSD and PSD- P, -M), growth, body condition, and density than ponds without threadfin shad. Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus population characteristics were similar among all ponds using fertilizer and threadfin shad. Of these techniques, we found that fertilization improved bluegill populations and that threadfin shad can improve largemouth bass populations without compromising bluegill size structure and abundance.

Received January 26, 2012; accepted August 7, 2012

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank Tommy Purcell, Christopher Kellogg, and Tammy DeVries for assistance with the collection and laboratory processing of fish and Allison Leonard and Emily DeVries for assistance with obtaining pond owner contact information. We also thank David Glover for assistance with the statistical analyses. This research was supported by the Alabama Agricultural Initiative, Alabama Cooperative Extension System, and the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station.