Black Bass big head and slender body ????

[Bebo's Dad]

I was up at our place 3 weeks ago and found a dead bass on the shoreline of our pond. Didn't see any physical damage or anything out of the ordinary other than the body size.
My brother was there this weekend and said he caught a couple bass that were big headed and little bodied.
We put 800 fat head minnows in the pond every couple of years and have an abundance of blue gill perch big and small along with some channel cats and a few blues.
I read where bass usually only live 5 or 6 years and they will start to decline with competing with other fish for food and also go blind.
Any info would be appreciated.

[SafetyMan]

It is my understanding that this is a result of overpopulation. I worry about it for my pond. Like you, I have put about 4,000 fat head minnows in there in less than a year and I feed them protein pellets. After all of the minnows I’ve added, I rarely see any.

[SGrem]

Is the water very clear?

[Bebo's Dad]

We have a feeder also with floating for the cats and sinking for the fin fish.
Water is clear unless we get more than an inch of rain.

[SGrem]

Clear water makes the prey fish too hard to catch by the predator fish. They can see the predators coming too easily.

Yall probably have big head/pencil body bass and big bluegill.

The answer is fish fry. Take out A LOT of small bass/big blue gill.... like all you can catch. Every single one. Sometimes hundredS depending on size of your pond. And repeat every 6 months until you start catching big bass again.

Also fertilize the water for an algae bloom. It will cloud the water some and put nutrients in so the food chain starts again. It starts with the algea. Do this carefully and calculating as it can drop oxygen levels.... a few times a year as needed. If you have a big aerator or fountain to help oxygen levels....windmill bellows etc.

[Phantom Fisherman]

Grem is right, big heads and small bodies equal overpopulation of bass with not enough prey. Thin the herd drastically. Since it is private water no regulations to worry about. Fish fry or stock neighbors new pond or feed the coons just thin the herd!

[Bebo's Dad]

We took around 20 plus bass last year 1.5 to 3lbs and probably about the same count on blue gill.
Our pond is close to 4 acres so yeah we will start plucking them.
Appreciate all the replies.

[SGrem]

Hundreds with an s. Need to have a gathering....or call the boy scouts over.

[I Fall In]

Hundreds with an s. Need to have a gathering....or call the boy scouts over.

Spring. Crappie and Bass.

[2Ws]

Along with taking more out I would also load it up with food for them, look at a bass from Lake Fork, they will be just the opposite due to the abundance of food, their bodies out grow the bone structure, 8lb fish will have a 5-6lb size head. An 8lb Rayburn fish will be 24-25", the same length fish at Fork will be 10lb....the same from most farm ponds will be 6lb

[Boom!]

Bass are starving. Add lots of bluegill and more minnows. Throw all fingerling bass on the bank and keep the big ones. That’s what we do and have had pretty good bass. Anything under this size gets cleaned or left on the bank.

[Bebo's Dad]

These were caught back in June of 23.
I will give the fish guy a call and get some minnows and blue gill delivered.

[Bandit1]

If its one fish, there is a good chance it was either sick or had a rubber worm balled up in its guts. If you see multiple fish like that, its overpopulation. You cannot feed them fast enough, no matter how many minnows you buy. Got to take a bunch out as said.

[Unknownstrohsfan]

If you have those hybrid cats in there, they are a problem too, thin the herd.