When there are too many bass in the pond, they eat most of the bream before the bream reach 2 to 4 inches in length. When this happens, there is not enough food for the medium-sized bass and they can’t grow to larger sizes. The only bream present are the newly hatched fish that have not been eaten yet and a few large adults that have somehow escaped the bass and reached a size too large for the bass to eat.
Ponds that are bass crowded have large numbers of small (12 inches or less) and thin bass and a small population of large bluegill. This is a desirable situation if you prefer to catch large bluegill. However, if bass are the desired species, then ponds in this condition would benefit from an increased annual harvest of bass. In a single year, remove approximately 35 pounds of bass (12 inches or less) per acre.
This reduces the competition for food among the remaining bass resulting in increased growth in following years.