Reel Repair by Alan Tani

After yard work this a.m. I went to the dock around 1 p.m. the sun was full bore & cooler weather.The pond is very clear now & when I looked down saw thousands of bait fish as far as I could see. Larger bass & bream were in the mix it was unreal ! I have stocked approximately 600 additional fish in the last 10 years.Crappie,coppernose bream,channel catfish & shellcracker.I never catch a lot At one time  maybe 10-20, they seem finicky maybe the clear water or abundance of Bait fish. This sight is the 1st time I have ever feared the pond getting overpopulated,they are thriving .The cooler weather has made the bass really aggressive.

Nice!  I'm envious. There comes a time when the best thing to do is let nature take its course.  As long as you have plenty of O2 during the spring turnover and summer they'll do fine.

I don't plan on stocking any fish ever again. It seems to be a healthy pond built in 2008 by a developer.I read nowadays you have to get permits to build ponds,one guy told me he paid a contractor $50k to build a 1 acre pond. Best to get one already established like we did. When you are near a pond you see things you don't notice while fishing other bodies of water,you are there just to fish.Every pond has different dynamics,wildlife you may never see on a short visit.Waterfowl why & when they decide to visit. Some I have seen only once in 10 years.Osprey Kamikaze dive for fish & make a big splash, their eyesight is  something.

Side note:
The little ones cant eat the 3/16" fish food, but will grab a pellet & run with it as long as they can until another takes over,it looks like playground football.