I am thinking about stocking rainbows now instead of waiting until spring. I have FHM and Gams in already. If I put RBT in now, how many six inch fish would go into a 3/4-1 acre pond.I'm in AZ at 6500 ft. And will they eat feed over the winter? Will they leave any FHM or gams to spawn in spring? If so, will they have enough head start to stock BG and LMB in late spring?

My experience (which is not much ..two full season's) --

"I am thinking about stocking rainbows now instead of waiting until spring." now is a great time to stock them.

"If I put RBT in now, how many six inch fish would go into a 3/4-1 acre pond" I stock 40 on the average, 10" RBT each fall in a 1 acre pond and works out good for their growth.

"And will they eat feed over the winter?" Yes, but slow down when the water gets colder, but still eat. Cecil would give you an accurate temp this happens. Seems like 65 degrees is when they are feeding the most. Thus, probably for you, they will eat more and gain more weight over the whole winter, than summer, but I am guessing at that. For me they eatlike mad in the fall and spring, slow down in the cold winter, and slow down when summer starts-- then eventually perish.

"Will they leave any FHM or gams to spawn in spring? If so, will they have enough head start to stock BG and LMB in late spring?" It's a harder one to answer. I am not stocking any this fall because I want the fry to flourish a little bit more than they have been. Yes, the RBT will knock back the FHM population. How much and is that ok depends on what you want and do. Feeding the RBT will help the FHM out, as the trout go for an easy meal. But they still will munch on those FHM if its easy. When the RBT get bigger, my guess 12", they will be more of a predator to them and other small fry. Also, how much do you treasure your LMB,BG fishery. If your real goal is that, then maybe you don't stock any RBT and really let the baitfish flourish so when you stock the LMB and BG they will really get a good start.

"Will they leave any FHM or gams to spawn in spring? If so, will they have enough head start to stock BG and LMB in late spring?" It's a harder one to answer. I am not stocking any this fall because I want the fry to flourish a little bit more than they have been. Yes, the RBT will knock back the FHM population. How much and is that ok depends on what you want and do. Feeding the RBT will help the FHM out, as the trout go for an easy meal. But they still will munch on those FHM if its easy. When the RBT get bigger, my guess 12", they will be more of a predator to them and other small fry. Also, how much do you treasure your LMB,BG fishery. If your real goal is that, then maybe you don't stock any RBT and really let the baitfish flourish so when you stock the LMB and BG they will really get a good start.



That is part of my problem...I'm not sure what I want anymore! When I started this project I was just looking to build a swimming hole for the kids. After spending hours and hours of research here on PB I have changed to wanting a fishing pond. The problem is I am not a fisherman, so I don't know what my priorities are as far as which fish I like. Most lakes around me have RBT, but everyone here does BG,LMB. I want the fishing to be great for the kids. My fishing experiences as a kid were quite poor so I never took a liking to it. Simple maintenance is also a priority since I don't live on site. I'm thinking I will stock the trout once before I stock BG,LMB and probably never stock again because once the LMB are there I wont be able to stock RBT without the bass eating them.

I stocked RBT out of an unexpected circumstance. Now that I have, it has been a fun eye-opener. I almost wish that I have never stocked any BG or LMB, but that has been a whole other unavoidable journey. I would now consider stocking trout every fall, and in the spring stock a new bunch of FHM to populate for the summer. Repeat every year, with possible HSB mixed in.

As said on here before, you can always stock the LMB and BG, but once you do you will have to kill off the pond to get rid of them. Do you expect the RBT to live year thru?

Yes, they should live all year long. All the lakes up here are all trout lakes. I could do a trout pond only. Why would you do that? Does the RBT taste better? I've heard BG are very good table fair. Plus, Don't BG bite at anything? Which would be best for kids fishing?

Mainly because they are so dang fun to catch and I love to watch them feed. Also they are different for me, and for most around here. As far as their taste (I know I will catch a lot of flak about this) I don't really think that highly of them. I much rather have BG, or even LMB. Like I said, they are a novelty to me right now, and if you don't have LMB and BG in there at first, you can always add that when you tire of the RBT.

Thanks! I think I will start with RBT and end up converting to Bluegill.

Captwho,

I've stocked RBT most winter seasons here in the mountains of WV. Actually, I've stocked more "golden" trout than true RBT. The goldens are mutations of RBTs. They may not be available where you are. They are pretty easy to find here in the mid-Atlantic area.

All are great fun to watch and feed. When we feed the trout, they all seem to have bad eyesight. They attack the floating feed like it is dragon flies well above the top of the water. After dancing on their tails, they bellyflop back into the water.

Last year I made the mistake of putting the trout in my hybrid bluegill(HBG)/channel catfish (CC) pond.

I could not catch the trout from that pond. The HBG and CC would instantly grab anything that hit the water. The trout were too cautious. We only got a fraction of them out before it got too warm for them in June.

I've had a lot more success in catching my "winter trout" in my pond that has pure strain bluegill and largemouth bass.

In any case, they are just plain fun to have in a pond.

I like the trout when smoked or pickled. But for frying or broiling, I sure prefer my catfish, bluegill, and bass.

Good luck/Good eatin'
Ken

Thanks, That makes me excited to have the trout in there. Maybe if they are cautious we can fish the bluegill and bass out and let the trout stay until they are huge. That would be awesome. Then we could fish them out in the winter. Do you have a problem with the bass eating the trout when you stock them?

You'll never catch all the LMB and BG out of the pond. I'd take it slow to start, and only stock the RBT.

Here's the deal.

If RBT can live in your pond (just because they live in the lakes all year long doesn't mean that they'll do the same in the pond - ponds warm up faster than lakes) all year long, then the water will be too cold for the LMB/BG to spawn. Say you put LMB/BG in the pond, if the BG won't spawn, then the LMB will eat them all. Then what? You have a stunted LMB pond.

As it was said before, once the LMB/BG are in there, you're stuck with them unless you kill the whole pond. Nothing will produce enough forage fish for the LMB besides BG, and nothing can keep all the baby BG in check except LMB (you could try SMB/HSB in high stocking densities to do that tho, TJ has had some success going that route).

I'd not be in too big of a hurry to stock anything other than the forage fish right now, and put the RBT in the pond this coming Spring. Do more research, and get a thermometer that will allow you to take water temps.

If you get too ansy, and jump the gun without doing enough research, you might end up having to kill the pond and starting over in a few years.

If it was my pond, I'd wait on stocking predators until you read all the pros and cons of each one. Unless you really know the temp profile of your pond all year long (will the water stay cool enough for the trout, and if it does, will that be too cool for the other fish to spawn?) you might want to look at just stocking Hybrids where you don't have to rely on spawning.

I'd give some thought to stocking YP and SMB, or YP and HSB along with the trout. Why RBT? Look into Tiger Trout, Golden RBT, Brown Trout or Brook Trout too.

Once again my parade is being rained on. The cool heads on this forum are keeping me in check. Thanks Esshup for your input. The desire to move faster than nature is strong! Once I saw my pond fill during the monsoon, all I can think about is putting fish in it. I'm trying to do research and this resource is amazing. It's the time between steps that's killing me. I will try and get water temps in the area for better answers. There is a local pond that I might be able to get results from.
The reason for RBT is that is what is available here and game and fish is ok with because they are already in the waters.

Once again, Thanks to all!

I would get yourself something to check YOUR water temps every time your at the pond. Record them on paper. Start as soon as possible. Like Esshup mentions, don't rely on another body of water and expect yours to do the same, even if it is close.

Also, with running a waterfall like you mention in the other thread, you will be exposing that water to heat during the summer, thus increasing temps. That could be good or bad, depending on fish types an goals.

Edit- check those temps at different levels too.

Thanks, F&C. What kind of thermometer do you use to check. I've only seen the ones that float for pools.