Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Next Steps to Take?

Construction finished November 2021 on a 2 acre pond.

- spring 2022, added 5000 FHM and 30 pounds of crawfish
- fall 2022, added 1100 BG (1" to 3") and 150 redear (1" to 3")
- summer 2023, added 15 Northern LMB, 15 Florida LMB, and 40 adult BG (4")
- fall 2023, added 40 F1 Tiger bass (6" to 8") and 30 adult BG (4")

The pond is fertilized and had aglime applied to raise pH.

Is there anything I need to stock in the spring or are there additional steps I need to take? My goal is to have a pond where I can catch bass over 5 pounds.

Welcome to Pond Boss!!!

How big were the 15 Northern LMB when you stocked them?

Are you feeding?

Sounds like a great start CCR!

A 2-acre pond in East Texas? I think you should be catching bass over 5# sooner than you think.

However, some of those bass get "hook smart" pretty quick. I have no idea of the trade-off between catching some at 3# to check their health and relative weight versus how many years you might have to wait to catch that same bass later (or ever) when it weighs 7.5#.

I agree with Sunil. The consensus on Pond Boss is that feeding is one almost surefire way to help along your big bass growth. Even if your bass don't directly take the feed, they should be eating feed-fattened BG!

I guess the other common Pond Boss advice on fish care after you have made a large investment is to consider aeration. Hate to see you lose some of your precious babies due to a fish kill.

Good luck on your upcoming big bass adventure!

Also, do you think you had a bluegill spawn in Spring/Summer '23?

...and you seem to have put together a nice overall plan.

15 Northern and 15 Florida were fingerlings. I am not feeding on a regular basis. We throw Purina MVP when we're at the property but have not yet purchased a feeder. It's in the plan, though.

I don't know if the bluegill have spawned.

We have never seen any dead fish, but I also don't see fish hitting the feed when we put it out. I also now have a ton of small to medium sized frogs all over the pond.

Sunil - anything I've gotten right along the way has been because of the info I get on this forum and the Pond Boss videos on Youtube. They have been a huge help!

The fish might not be hitting the feed because of the inconsistent feeding. When they are fed every day at the same time and at the same place, they are there waiting for the feed. When not fed consistently at the same time/place, they don't know that there are free vittles and may not pay them any attention.

I think you're right that an aeration system would be a great idea, but I'm on a budget that doesn't allow for it yet. Do you think the aeration system or a feeder should come first? We built the pond in a section of the land that is in the flood plain and before the construction stayed wet pretty much all year due to underground springs. This summer the top couple of feet of the water stayed warm, as you would expect, but the water underneath it was very cold due to the springs. I'm hoping that the cooler water underneath might alleviate the need for aeration until I can afford a system. Thoughts?

Going into Winter now, an aeration system won't be as a big of a worry but make sure you have one in place before next summer.

The bass stocking rates are very much on the lower end, in my opinion, but...you should have a massive forage base going on.

How's the water clarity? I ask because you should be seeing fish in the water, and coming to feed. At the minimum, fathead minnows should be almost everywhere and pushing feed around.

A 3" bluegill in the Fall '22 could likely pull off a spawn in Spring/Summer '23, and those YOY BG would have a good survival rate considering the low amount of LMB over the 2 acres.

I am curious about the crawfish stocking. I thought those guys reproduced at a crazy rate and 30lb seems like an awful lot in a 2 acre pond

We had some water clarity issues in the spring due to runoff. As the rains stopped the water clarity wasn't an issue through the summer. When I have thrown food I have seen minnows all over the place, just no bluegills. We fish about once a month at a lake near our pond. We usually take the bluegill we catch that are adults to our pond. Would it hurt to fish our pond for bluegill to see what we can catch to get a gauge on what's in it?

Jason D - 30 pounds was where the price fell a good bit per pound. There wasn't any real reason for why I put that many in. I was just trying to get more bang for my buck. I was just hoping to get as much forage into the pond as I could before I put the bass in.

Yes, you could be fishing your pond now.

I'm guessing, but you probably have bluegill in the 6-8" range now, maybe larger if they've been gorging on fatheads.

Cold Creek. I would fish it just to find out what size and condition they were in.,