I have a pond that was stunted with bluegill a while back by and I'm looking to restock it. It's about an acre and is about 8 or more feet deep. I'm trying to find some out of the ordinary fish to stock it with. Any suggestions? PS I live in southern Michigan.

What are the species and sizes of each species (largest size and average) that are in the pond now?

there is probably about 20 20lb common carp and posibly around a hundred to 200 bluegill about 5 inches each

Hsb -hybrid striped bass( if legal)

Pumpkinseeds are cool

Golden red breasted sunfish

I have some saltwater species I hope to place a few of in my pond, but they probably wouldn't work in Michigan. Talk about out of the ordinary though!

I'd do all I could to yank the 400# of carp out of it. Wasted biomass in my book. Stunted BG are a good forage base for a lot of predators. What species does Michican NOT allow you to stock in your pond?

Scott, what does he stock to eat the carp?

best way to get rid of the carp is a 22 or bow and arrow.

I don't know about a .22 or any gun for that matter remember bullets bounce off water I know from experience.

All bullets bounce off of water. I would be a little worried about an 8 feet deep pond in Michigan experiencing winter kills.

Will hybrid bass repoduce in ponds and will they survive the winter?

Hybrid striped bass will not reproduce in ponds, but will survive through the winter.

I also have sunfish like you mentioned any other ideas

How warm does your pond get in the summer if the water stays below 70 trout might be an option. if you can i'd stock big ones to control the bg.

All of these are possible. However, some are harder to manage.

LMB
SMB
BG
HBG
HSB
WE
YP
RBT
CC
HCP
Many kinds of sunfish
Lots of other ones, but usually aren't done for various reasons.

Acronyms

What is YOUR favorite fish mitchfishman5 ??????

My favorite fish is sturgeon and grayling but both are impossible.
Will walleye repoduce?

Walleye will likely reproduce, but will have no recruitment. Meaning, the young will not survive to grow to adulthood. Not a terribly problem to have, as they make an excellent bonus fish along with hybrid striped bass.

Why would they not survive?

They're slow growers, fusiform and delicious.

Will tiger trout work? What are the requirments for them?

All trout require cool well oxygenated water. Seasonal stocking might be considered, but I have no idea how easy it is to source tiger trout.

First and foremost, Mitch, you need to remove those carp. Having 400 pounds of carp in a one acre pond is bad news. I imagine water clarity is very poor.

Your best bet, honestly, is to completely kill this pond. If you can, I would drain it, deepen it another 6 feet or so, make sure everything that was in it previously is gone. Then you'll have a clean slate and entertain those out of the box species you want to.

I agree, you need to remove those carp!
Catch them - not difficult in turbid water - chum them with fish pellets, corn or bread scraps - toss a baited hook and hang on -

Kill off the pond for 20 carp - you gotta be kidding.... ...
Carp are now being classified as highly regarded sport fish and are sometimes called "Golden Bones" - in reference to saltwater bonefish!
20lb trophies - wish I was close enough to help "eradicate"!
G/

I was considering the full picture when I made that post, not specifically just the carp, though that was part of the equation.

Mitch has made it clear that he wants unique species in this pond. In order to accomplish this, with Lord knows how many stunted bluegill present, the only way not to go the route of largemouth/bluegill, would be to kill it off. And being only 8 feet currently, which for carp, largemouth, bluegill, etc. would be fine, I think, if possible, draining and deepening would be a good idea.

This is based on how Mitch has presented his goals so far. I don't know if any of it is even possible in his situation.

I agree George. I would definitely be on board for a few fights with 20+lb carp.

I know that you were.. ... after two drought related fish kills, I hate the idea of purposely killing off a pond....unless for maintaining pure genetic re-stocking.

I have had good luck on a 1/4 acre pond controlling over-population of BG with HSB and ONE BC.
All female LMB would be another option.
George

Unless you were draining and digging it deeper to have more water in "reserve" for another drought. But then you wouldn't have to kill it, just drain and start digging.

Good free advice Scott - go back and read Perfect pond - Had one....
Easy to recommend killin' someone else pond or just diggin' deeper - yeah, right....

Sometimes the best route to take isn't the least painful one.......

Scott my young friend, you are forgetting your manners....
IT ALL DEPENDS!!!!
Now go back on topic...!

Can BC's live through a mi winter?

It depends, like everything else. How deep is the pond, how bad is that particular winter, is there aeration, etc, etc, etc...

The pond ices over there is a large fountian the pond is 8 ft or more, can a BC survive?

That's not very many bluegill for a one acre pond. If you truly only have that many I'd question they are stunted. There can be other reasons your bluegill seem small.

1.) You're not catching the big ones
2.) Lots of predator fish.
3.) Over fishing of the larger fish.
4.) Too cold of water for good bluegill growth.

Hybrid striped bass may be illegal in Michigan. You will want to check.

If you find a source for tiger trout in Michigan let me know. I've never been able to find one that does the proper health testing.

Actually I know of a couple instances where they did but it wasn't significant. Apparently some of them were close enough to the parent species to not be sterile.

My pond is only 9 feet max depth probably 6 1/2 feet average depth. By using a small compressor and diffuser in shallow water to keep a little ice open, depth isn't an issue for me as far as winter kill. I do have some issue with some morts and fungal infections on a few fish but overall the fish are healthy.

I've just moved up to 300 yellow perch, 32 smallmouth, and at least 100 bluegills out of that pond with more to go once it's drained down.

Here is the HSB info-

Hybrid striped bass are "functionally" sterile. The 1:200,000 probably applies to hybrids spawning with hybrids. However, the males of both species commonly run with either striped bass or white bass, and they certainly can produce a back-crossed generation with either. For example, hybrid males running with striped bass females will produce offspring that are 3/4 striper and 1/4 white bass genes.

The "functional" sterility comes from the difference in egg types for the two parentals. Striped bass have eggs that are nearly neutral buoyancy, and along the east coast they spawn in rivers that carry the eggs while they develop and hatch. If the eggs settle to the bottom, they typically smother and die in the organic/silt layer on the river bottom. Eggs need some oxygen, which crosses the membrane. White bass have heavy, sticky eggs. In rivers, they spawn on gravel riffles. The sticky, heavy eggs attach to the bottom and the current keeps them clean and oxygenated. Hybrid striped bass eggs are halfway in-between. They are too heavy to float with the striped bass eggs, settle to the bottom, and generally die. They are too light and not sticky enough to stay on the gravel if spawned in a riffle. They wash off, into a pool below, settle on the organic mud that usually has low or no dissolved oxygen, and die.

I've heard rumors as well, but for the sake of this discussion I went with the common answer.

Mine weren't rumors. One was a gravel pit where hybrid stripped bass escaped a floating cage operation. Hybrid striped bass showed up at one point that were much smaller than any planted. The Dentist that ran the operation sweared up and down they were hybrid striped bass. I had another aquaculturist tell me he's witnessed it too.

Like Stubby's pond.

HSB reproduction in ponds


http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=23258&Number=292348#Post292348 HSB spawning text and vid


http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=272163&page=1 another report


http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.ph...=true#Post84636 another one


http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=177718&page=1 and here

I think this is the one occurrence I recalled. However, if asked my a pond owner, I will tell them either no or unlikely to happen.

Was there any studies done on the offspring?

Hey, Josh! No studies. I really, really want to catch one of the babies! We should have some over 14lbs right now (not the babies)and I'm scared to death to hook one of those guys with a fly rod. The babies usually eat at a different time and place than the big guys do (when they eat.... Steve hasn't said if they are eating or if it's just the trout right now). I try fishing in that spot but it's a little early for them to be biting. We'll take really good photos when we catch one. I think I mentioned a few years ago that when Steve had to drain his pond and we had to manualy relocate each fish by hand to a holding cove... I counted 94 adult HSB and 42 (or 41) babies. And one baby rainbow!

Stacy, I want to see a video of your fight with a 14 lb Hybrid Striper on a fly rod - what a blast - they will take you into the backing in a heartbeat!
What size fly rod?
My favorite for HSB is a Temple Fork Outfitters 8-10 wt MiniMag.
Makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck and I can only dream of a 14 pounder.
George

Good evening, Mr. Glazener! Trust me, it WILL be on video! You are SO right about taking the backing.... gone! Last one I caught over a year ago was 10lb 12oz and it was on a 8/9 wt fly rod with a 12lb leader.... does that sound right? We were using a 6/7 wt fly rod but upgraded just for the HSB. Steve doesn't think that'll be enough for this year's bunch. He said we'll have to go up to salt water gear! They are a crazy long fight! You know you have one we you start feeling that "jerking" and pure muscle taking off with your entire line!!! I bet it was a 20 minute battle (at least it felt like it). It went from one side of the pond to the next and back again.... I was exhaused! Boy, was it FUN though!

You have an open invitation to fish our pond anytime! It's gorgeous during the summer!

Stacy, at risk of being sanctioned for hi-jacking "Stocking a Stunted Pond" thread, I think we are OK talking about stocking Hybrid Stripers - my favorite pond fish on the fly!

OK, we are in the clear...
“Last one I caught over a year ago was 10lb 12oz and it was on a 8/9 wt fly rod with a 12lb leader - He said we'll have to go up to salt water gear!”

Tell Steve the Temple Fork Outfitters MiniMag series fly rods are salt water fly rods modified for Largemouth Bass in heavy cover.
They are 3 piece rods with butt section engineered with high modulus “S” glass, mid section “hybrid S glass/carbon fiber, and tip section high modulus carbon fiber - almost indestructible! They are my favorites - smoothest action ever for me!

I recommend the 6-8 model, uplined with a WF-9-F fly line, the best suited for Hybrid Stripers tossing Stubby Steve flies IMO.

Yeah, I am prejudiced - I did most of the field testing for these fly rods.
More important, Todd Overton of Overton fisheries is a TFO dealer - give him a call!

Finally found someone to talk to about fly fishing for HSB!
Thanks Stacy - Stubbys rule!
George Glazener


PS: 1st photo HSB caught on prototype MiniMag - all were caught on Stubby Steve pellet flies.
G/

Trophy HSB:





1/4 acre pond:

George, I really, really like the Mini-Mag that you convinced me to buy. I'm not knocking it at all, but for my next purchase, can you recommend a rod that is longer? I'm just used to using a rod that is longer, and some of the ponds that I'm fishing in are down, and I'm standing up to 8' below the soil at the top of the pond.

It's hard for me to keep remembering to keep the backcast exceptionally high to prevent hitting the ground on the longer backcasts with the shorter rod.

If Stacy gets one of those Mini-Mags, I'm sure she'd love it. It's perfect for those larger fish, especially when coupled with a reel that has a drag system - no more palming the reel.

Scott, there are some really good affordable fly rods on the market but I am only familiar with TFO fly rods.
Light weight fly rods are the rage right now, and TFO's most popular is the BVK - unless pressed for time I have several weights that you can try the next time you are in the area.

Another favorite of mine is the TFO Axiom, which is a little cannon but heavier than the BVK. I recall you have the MiniMag 8-10? For a companion 9 footer, you might like an 8 wt Axiom for your style of fly-fishing.

Problem recommending fly rods long distance is that it is subjective and really depends on your casting style - I like to cast a fly rod and match the line to the rod to get the "feel" of the rod before I purchase.

Knowing you as I do, already having a heavyweight for tossing big bugs, I would suggest you take a look at a TFO 9 ft - 8wt Axiom fly rod...

Now how's that for hi-jacking "Stocking a Stunted Pond"?
Back on topic - a fly IS a management tool - right?

Thanks George. No time constraints. I'll see how long my Scientific Anglers rod is....

Thank you for your advice, Mr. Glazner! I showed this to Steve so he knows what I want for fishing! We will contact Todd about it. I'm really excited about it!!!! Those are wonderful photos of your HSB. They are amazing fish to catch and dare I say eat!