In most areas, the amount of aquatic vegetation in a pond is tied directly to the amount of light that can penetrate the water. Where once the prevailing wisdom held that, for bass, there was no such thing as too much cover, biologists now say anything more than 20 percent coverage is detrimental to fishing. Small baitfish have too much opportunity to hide from bass. User Preference Beauty, they say, is in the eye of the beholder. Or maybe it's on the barb of his fish hook.
Some anglers think a five-pound channel is a marvel of nature.
Others think it looks like a genetic mistake. In any case, the pond manager must determine the main use for his pond, then decide whether he wants bragging-size bass that not even his grandchildren will be allowed to remove or catfish to carry home for supper. Copyright - The FisherNet, 1997. All rights reserved.