I tried to find this via the search feature but couldn't really find a thread that had what I was looking for. When I do an internet search, I can find fairly decent information for public bodies of water, but not for a private managed water.

So basically what I am looking for are expected growth rates for different species of fish in a private managed pond. I realize there are many variables that factor in to growth rates. So for those pondmeisters who have kept records in their ponds since their fish were stocked, I am curious what growth rates you saw for different species. Perhaps people can then look back at this thread to access how their fish growth rates are comparing.

So, for those who have kept records, could you share your growth rates for the different fish species you stocked into your ponds. What species, how long were they when stocked, what length were they at year 1, 2, 3 etc... Do you feed, fertilize, etc...

Nobody has kept a log of their fish's growth rates from their pond?

CJ, I can't help much but the rainbow & tiger trout in the pond averaged 1 to 1 1/2 inches growth from May thru Oct., BRKT a little less and browns were so hard to catch I don't know. They had access to trout pellets and plenty of natural forage.

I have the same results as AP, but from Oct. to now. AquaMax 600 once a day. RBT & Goldens

my fish are broke or something they dont grow. Seriously my bass only grow 2-3 inches a year because ive still got too many of them in the pond.

The solution is to fish, fish, and fish some more. It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it.

Oh ive done alot of that. Ive taken out about 350 12" bass and added Tshad and more bluegill. They just get to a point where they are to darn smart and they wont bite anything.

cj, this is top of the bell curve (good forage mgmt)but

new pond:
1-2 bg in march- 6 inchs by aug
2 inch bass in june- 11 inches in oct, 14 april
trout 3/4 lb in nov, 3.75 lbs in may
channel cats 6-8 inches in march-2 lbs by october

in the south of course

Makes me want to sing Dixie, because I wish I was there. Wife says we ain't movin nowhere. My fish come to a complete standstill around Novemeber and don't start up again until now. I bring them inside and keep them warm they never stop growing. I envy you Greg.

Funny I have always wanted to go to north cal.

I would have to assume you are throwing pellets to those fish, what are you using, and are you using different types for cats, trouts and gamefish? If you are in the pond business, California is not a good place to be right now.

TPF

trout - trout chow, 44% protein 18% fat
Bass- no feeding
bluegill- mainly either purina game fish chow or other off brand smaller pellet 36% protein 4% fat
cats- 32%-36% protein food

Ok I will just visit cal then- it is high on the list.

Thanks Greg. I think Purina gamefish chow is 32% protein, I'd rather go for brand X with higher protein. Cheapest or least expensive I could probably get is catfish chow. The koi master I knew just used it, stupid carp will eat anything anyway. Then he went to some fancy high selenium stuff if he wanted to show to get color. We are also experimenting with hybrid lmb that pelletize easily. I have avoided the pellets for gamefish forever but have to readjust my game for customers desires. Just trying to get the biggest bang for the buck and use the right pelelts for the right species. Ignorance is bliss unless your customers expect results.

In an ideal world we could test diff brands. I do feel although purina game fish chow is 32% protein it is better than most brand x 36% protein due to better protein source (search thread on past discussions). This coming from a guy that does not sell purina but brand x (southern states little strike).

For gamefish like BG , LMB , HSB the source of the protein is more important than a few extra protein points. Fish meal/oil is critical.

CJ I have been thinking of ways to address your question. As you noted rates vary greatly for a lot of reasons. Dr. Homer Swingle tested all the common pond fish in different combos in ponds and measured growth for different periods of time. That is one source of info. Also Carlander has data from all sources including ponds but it is not segregated. The problem I encounter with the question is growth after 1 year in a new pond. First year growth of stocker fish in a newly stocked pond is the easy part. Because almost no pond owners measure age they can't give second , third etc year growth in mixed ponds. How do you want to approach the next step ?

It would have to be anecdotal for the most part I suppose. People's personal observations unless it was done by a fisheries biologist or a very accomplished amateur. Particularly early on, you can gauge fish growth by simply keeping track of the largest specimen of each species you catch during the year. For example with LMB, first year the biggest fish caught was 10", second year the biggest LMB caught was 14", the 3rd year the biggest LMB caught was 16", etc. This would almost guarantee you are only getting the first stocked year class as the odds of a second generation fish outgrowing a first generation fish is very minimal.

The use of fish tags could also be an option for tracking year to year advances in fish growth. This goes beyond the amateur pond owner's ability in all likelihood, but otoliths or scales can be used to determine fish age more accurately without tagging fish.

As has been said, there are a bunch of different variables to fish growth. I just thought it would be nice for pond owners to say I stocked LMB, BG, RES and CC. Year 1, the biggest fish I caught for each species was ___. For year 2 the bigggest fish I caught for each species was ___. And put that down for each additional year. With enough pond owners sharing their data and the individual variables, you could start getting some good data. Doesn't seem like there is much interest in this though. I figured more pond owners would be interested in how their growth rates for their fish compared to other pond owners.

CJ,


The following has been my experience with feed trained fish:

Brown trout and Brook trout age two 13 to 19 inches
Brook trout age three 18 to 20 inches
Brown trout age three 18 to 23 inches

Largemouth bass age two 8 to 10 inches
Largemouth bass age three 14 to 15 inches
Largemouth bass age four 16 to 18 inches
Largemouth bass age five 17 to 20 inches

Smallmouth age two 8 to 10 inches
Smallmouth age three 13 to 14 inches]
Smallmouth age four 15 to 17 inches

Bluegill age one 4 to 6 inches
Bleugill age two 7 to 8 inches
Bluegill age three 8 1/2 to 9 inches
Bluegill age four 9 1/2 to 10 inches

Yellow Perch age one 7 to 9 inches
Yellow Perch age two 10 to 12 inches
Yellow Perch age three 12 to 13 inches
Yellow Perch age four 13 to 14 inches
Yellow Perch age five 13 + to 14 +
Yellow Perch age six 14 to 15 plus with one over 16 inches.

Growth was not shown for age one bass and trout because I purchased them at age 1.

I find that feed trained fish are at least 2 to 3 inches ahead annually vs. non feed trained natural fed counterparts.

They're chicken CJ. Bok, bok, bok~!

HAHA, Thanks Cecil... I am assuming these growth rates were for the fish you've grown over the years?

Nope I made them up, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night!

Seriously yes.

HAHA, there are a lot of guys who'd like to see growth rates like that! I think it would be invaluable information if a number of guys from all over the country had the same data and we could all compare.

JHAP and DIED's greenies can beat up your greenies.

Hey, I think there should be a column for GSF growth rates... I won't discriminate between quality gamefish and trash fish. HAHA

I think there are too many variables, the biggest being growing season.

CJ I like th idea so much I might start hading that out on "data to track" sheet we give clients. They can fill in ur blanks.

I wish I had that data orgnized in that fashion. Many times we stock and do not hear from client until year 4 where they have had poor growth on bass the last two years (mainly lack of bas harvest of course). However I do have a decent number we track all along and wish I had time to go over some data for your answers- if I get some of the data on other species I will post.

lmb- I can add this again top of bell curve probably
age 2- 2.5-4 lbs
age 3- 3.5-6.5 lbs

Thanks Greg, it will be interesting at the least and informative with enough data from the different ponds. I realize there will be regional variances with north to south growing seasons among many other variables.

Is there some sort of spreadsheet that you use to track the growth rates. I'd like to start tracking mine since I just stocked the BG in Dec. Also, how do you tell year1 fish from year2 and so on? Just from the size or should I clip fins or... I would like to keep a closer eye on it than just jotting down what I can when we're fishing. I think a spreadsheet would make me keep better records if there is a standard of some sort that is used.
Thanks,

I am not sure there is a standard spread sheet out there. One wouldn't be too hard to make though. Differentiating between 1 year class to the next can be a challenge. Fin clipping and tagging could be two options one could use to help keep better data.

I should be able to report on CC growth, I clipped the adipose fin of each one that was stocked last Spring.

Very cool, it will be fun to see how they progress. If other members with data on CC in their ponds post their number we can make comparisons and see regional as well as other variances that affect growth rates.