Dead Bass at the Backyard Pond! Time for an Investigation

Ryan Hoelke
Ryan Hoelke
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0
Published 2024-05-12
We have a dead bass at the backyard bass pond. I need to find out what happened to this largemouth bass. Winter kill? Lack of oxygen under the ice? Starting the pond aerator too early? Too late? Did the fish eat something bad? Too much late winter pond aeration, or not enough oxygen? Did I have the diffuser too low at the pond bottom? Could that be what killed this fish? In order to get to the bottom of this, I cut the dead fish open to see what's inside. I need to figure out what happened to this fish so that I don't have the same problem happen to any other fish and bass in the pond.

This video is the follow-up to this video where we set-up the solar pond aerator and then discover the dead fish floating:    • The Solar Pond Aerator has Problems /...  

More Pond Videos:
Going under the ice to visit the fish:    • The Backyard Pond is Frozen // Under ...  
A late fall day at the Backyard Pond:    • A Day at the Backyard Pond // Fish on...  
Catching and tagging more bass for the pond:    • Catching and Tagging Big Bass for the...  
Tagging the Bass:    • Backyard Bass Pond - Tagging the Bass  
Adding some Bass to the Pond:    • Stocking the Backyard Pond with a few...  
Feeding the Bait in the Pond:    • Bait Stocking & Feeding at the Backya...  
Adding Structure to the Pond:    • Adding Structure to the Backyard Pond  
Going Underwater to see the Fish:    • Fish of the Backyard Pond // Underwat...  
Stocking the Pond:    • Aggressive Pet Bass // Bait Stocking ...  
Installing a Solar Powered Pond Aerator:    • Pond Aeration System  
Pond Aerator Follow-up a few months later:    • Pond Aerator // It's Improving the Wa...  
Building a Beach at the Pond:    • Building a Beach at the Backyard Pond  
Building a Limestone wall at the Pond Shore:    • Pond Rock Wall Construction  
Stocking More Bait and Adding some Structure:    • Backyard Bass Pond - Stocking Minnows...  
Sending the Camera under the Ice to find some Winter Fish:    • Are My Fish still Alive in the Backya...  
First Ever Pond Stocking with an Assortment of Bait and Minnows:    • Stocking Backyard Bass Pond with Shin...  
Digging the Pond!:    • Digging a Pond with an Excavator  
All Comments (6)
  • @chm1974
    i have experienced that same problem several times. large older bass don't like beeing moved from one body of water to another. they have more trouble adapting to a new environment than younger fish. sometimes it went well for the first couple months, but tipically the next winter they were floating dead. my conclusion: the younger/smaller the fish you move, the lower the mortality.
  • @kennethwylie8377
    My first guess is ... a lack of oxygen in the pond for a fish that large.
  • @allanjones207
    I empathize with you for losing the bass but the autopsy was really funny.