Maintaining a healthy fish population is crucial for any lake or pond ecosystem. Fish harvesting is not just about catching dinner; it's an essential management practice that helps ensure a healthy and fun fishery for you and your family! Whether you're aiming for a balanced fishery, trophy largemouth bass, or trophy bluegill, your harvesting strategy will significantly influence your success.
"Let 'em go, let 'em grow" sounds familiar to just about any outdoorsman, but unfortunately, the phrase isn't as helpful as you'd think. Sometimes, "letting 'em go" will do more harm to your fishery than not! The following are some general guidelines to get you started on a regular harvesting plan and start seeing improvements in your fishery.
Why Fish Harvesting is Necessary for a Healthy Fishery
Key Reasons for Fish Harvesting:
Population Control: Prevents overpopulation
Genetic Health: Supports a healthy genetic composition, ensuring that only the best of the best inhabit your pond.
Improved Fish Growth: Improves population balance among the fishery, reducing competition for forage thus enhancing fish growth.
By understanding and implementing effective harvesting strategies, you can support the long-term health and balance of your fishing waters both improving your fishing experience and the value of your investment!
Best Times for Harvesting and Size Recommendations
Optimal Harvesting Time
Spring (March - June): Ideal for harvesting bass while they are in the shallows for spawning. This is the best time of the year to remove large quantities of bass from your lake to prevent overcrowding and this is also the best time of year to decipher the difference between males and females so that males can be targeted for harvest. Starting in February and throughout March are the absolute best times to harvest crappie.
Summer (June - August): During the summer early morning and late evenings will be the best time for harvesting throughout the heat of the summer. In smaller lakes, fishing can be difficult throughout the heat of the day while the fish are conserving energy and less active during the heat of the summer.
Fall – as the water temperatures cool off and fish become more active from the summer lull and before the cold of winter moves in.
Although these are the best times for harvest, you can definitely pull fish out later in the year. In the heat of summer and the colder months of winter, you may struggle with catch rates, but that doesn't mean you can't still hold your fish to rigorous standards.
Size Recommendations
For effective harvesting, consider these general guidelines:
Largemouth Bass: Harvest fish under 15 inches to maintain a healthy population of larger fish; focus on removing smaller, stunted bass.
Bluegill: Aim to harvest fish between 6-8 inches to encourage growth of larger individuals and improve reproduction rates. (If managing exclusively for quality largemouth bass, harvesting bluegill should be done very sparingly to maximize the forage base for largemouth bass.
Catfish: Regularly harvest catfish around 1-2 pounds to maintain a sustainable population. (If managing exclusively for trophy bass, it is best to harvest ALL catfish, as these fish will compete with bass for forage which will result in a decline of bass growth. When catfish are stocked in a bass fishery to provide an additional fish for fishermen to catch, it is best to manage the channel catfish as a put and take fishery. Simply stock them, harvest them out over time, then restock them when catch rates have declined. Keep in mind that successful channel catfish reproduction is very rare in a fishery containing an abundant largemouth bass fishery.
Harvesting Techniques: How to Make It Count
Harvest Rate
You will likely avoid harvesting any bass over 15 inches to allow for the larger fish in your pond to continue to grow as you remove smaller fish that may compete with these large bass for resources and space. General harvest guidelines recommend removing at least 25-35 pounds of bass smaller than 15 inches per surface acre per year.
Electrofishing Harvest
If catching all the necessary fish on hook and line becomes too cumbersome or daunting, our team of electrofishing experts are here to help! With harvesting fish via hook and line, the more aggressive fish are more susceptible to being harvested. Harvesting fish via electrofishing provides an un-biased method of harvesting fish and during spring or fall, it can allow for the removal of large numbers of fish.
An electrofishing survey will also help us evaluate your pond's overall health and further plan to meet your fishery goals. The best time to utilize electrofishing services are in the fall and spring, when water temperatures are cooler to avoid overstressing fish.
Benefits of Periodic Population Assessments
Tailoring Your Harvest Strategy to Your Management Goals
Different management goals require distinct harvesting strategies. Your harvesting strategy and intensity will vary depending on the type of fish you are managing for, whether you want high catch rates or giant bass will have a major impact on your harvesting intensity!
Trophy Bass Management
Selective Harvest: Dependent on the age and current condition of the fishery, bass harvesting must be very aggressive and highly selective. In such a scenario, males must be targeted, since they will not grow as large as females. Also the bass must be harvested based on their relative weights. Helpful charts and guides for determining relative weight (of the weight a healthy fish will be based on length) can be foundhere.
Harvesting based on relative weights will ensure that only underperforming bass are harvested and only the superior bass are released. For example, all bass under 120% might be harvested or 100% or 110%. Again, where this relative weight cutoff is for harvest or release is dependent on several factors and conducting an annual fish survey will allow the biologist at AES to adjust harvesting parameters based on current and accurate data.
Bluegill and other forage species: With a trophy bass fishery, AES recommends that no forage species are harvested such as bluegill or redear sunfish. If you want to catch some for the frying pan, that is completely fine. But overall, there is no need to harvest a set number of forage fish from the fishery each year. The more forage fish harvested, the less forage for the bass.
Catfish and other predators: In a trophy bass fishery, all other predators must be harvested which includes catfish, crappie, etc. Keeping the populations of other predators at a minimum will help reduce competition for forage amongst the bass thus maximizing the growth of the bass.
Trophy Bluegill Management
Regular Harvesting: Consistently remove bluegill smaller than 8 inches to promote growth of larger fish and reduce competition for food.
Less Bass Harvest: Normally, you would want to harvest most of your small bass, but if you are looking for large bluegill, the more abundant the bass population the more predation pressure the bluegill will experience. A larger bass population will help prevent the bluegill population from becoming too abundant.
Aggressive Feeding: The key to a trophy bluegill fishery is an aggressive feeding program which requires utilizing fish feeders that will feed a high protein fish food multiple times throughout the day. Even feeding during warm spells throughout the winter months will help maximize the growth of the bluegill. Lake owners can also consider using a sinking fish pellet during the winter months to get some supplemental feeding during the cold of winter.. Aggressive feeding will make sure your bluegill are staying fat and happy!
Get Expert Help!
At Aquatic Environmental Services, we're committed to helping you achieve your fish management goals. Our team of expert biologists is here to help you navigate the complexities of fish harvesting and population management. Whether you have questions about specific techniques or need assistance with periodic assessments, don't hesitate to reach out!
Call us with questions: Our team is ready to assist you in making your lake a place of serenity and fun for your family.
Schedule a consultation: Let's discuss your unique goals and create a tailored management plan.