We completed a 4 acre lake in November, 2007. In Spring of 2008 we added 3000 CN Bluegills (2-3") , 1000 Red Ear(2-3", 720 pounds of Flathead minnows and later 150 Hybrid Striped bass (3-5")and in June 2008 300 Large Mouth bass (1-4"). The lake was about 1/3 full and at this time it is about the same. We Have been feeding pellets for the CNB & RES. I do not fish it very often but I have caught a few LMB 5-8" and several BG 4-6". I have plant rye grass and Bermuda but the drought has taken its toll on the rye especially.

My concern is the toll this might be taken on the fish population. Hopefully this drought will be over at some point in time. Should I consider restocking?

Welcome to the forum,rnk.Hang on and the experts will be along shortly.How deep is your lake?

The lake will be at least 12 feet at the deepest point when full. At this time I am guessing it is 4-5 feet at the deepest point. We also place 4 groups of oak trees for bass cover of course the are not totally cover with water.

rnk, what is making you think you might need to restock? It sounds like your fish are growing.

More water will help, of course, but your initial stocking numbers sound reasonable and should get the pond established. After a few spawns, you should start getting different sizes and classes of fish.

That's what I was thinking David. The delay in filling up will mean a delay before final biomass and numbers will be reached, but the original stocking numbers/ratios look good. Kind of like having a smaller pond for a while; once it fills numbers should expand impressively to fill the extra space.

Are you worried about erosion because of the failed ground cover?

Yes, I am concerned with erosion. This depends upon the type of rain we receive. I am hoping for a long drawn out rain fall.

I think you will be fine. If you have some grass cover the erosion issue will not be too bad. The fish population sounds fine. Wait until it fills up and then see where you are then...

rnk
Welcome to the forum, glad you found us.
If you got the kind of rain down south as we did up north you may not need to worry about the water level.

Otto

We got 3/4 " thru Thurs. but today looks like we will get some additional rain. One good thing is that we have a large area of run off to fill the lake. Water mostly from pastures and woods West of us.

I may or may not have a problem so I hope someome can give me some info. We completed a new 4 acre lake in Grimes county on 11/06. Spring of 2007 it was stocked with LMB, BG, Redear and stripers. The fish have come thru a few lean year of drought and seem to be healthy. LMG 5 lbs : Stripers 12 to 14 inches BG 8.5 inches.
The lake never completely filled and is now about 4-5 feet from full level. I would say there is about 3 surface acres.
The mystery is a maroonish color in the deeper portion of the lake. It covers about 1/4th of the surface area and as best as I can tell is thru the column of water. Its as if you would put some dye in a glass of water and it does not completely color the whole glass. I noticed this about 4 wks ago