Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Advice about BG stocking.

Guys, I thought I had my mind made up twice already about which species of BG that I was going with. At first it was CNBG and then it was reg BG. After speaking with several fish farms that sell most of my options I am more confused than ever. Please HELP!!!
I know each of you went with whatever type of BG for a certain reason but Please give me your thoughts. These are my options.
BG, CNBG, HBG and RES. One fish farm is telling me to go with the reg BG the other is saying go with HBG because they are easier to catch, grow quickly and when they mate it comes out a CNBG but after 2 or 3 years they are harder to catch and a lot fewer in numbers from bass feeding on them. JUST VERY CONFUSED!!!

TKD I am no expert but I'll take a shot at this. I have CNBG and RES and LMB and HSB in my pond. One thing is both BG and CNBG will do fine where you are located. I have some regular BG and I have not seen any difference in any of my Gills as far as size. CNBG and BG can cross breed I really don't think that's to big of a deal. You may not need RES right away if your pond is new but if your going to stock them I say why not go ahead and get it done. If your plan is to eventually have LMB and maybe a few HSB in the future You want CNBG IMO for sure. You need to remember what Bob Lusk always says.

BG and or CNBG are the backbone for forage for the LMB without it you will not keep up with feeding them. Unless your LMB are pellet trained and that's a whole other story.

Your RES wont produce many offspring but they are a good maintenance fish and fun to catch. Where you are from your CNBG can spawn up to 6 times a year maybe more and that will continue to feed your hungry, hungry LMB and in a couple years you will be pulling out some nice LMB in the 3 pound range or better if that's your goal. Its all about what your goals are.

My goal in my 1 acre pond was to have nice CNBG, and LMB and some nice HSB. 5 years later I have 10.5 in CNBG, 3 to 5 lbs LMB and 4 plus pound HSB... Nothing hugh mind you but fun and a great time to catch when you sink into one. So if it were me I would go with CNBG and RES. Then LMB at some point.

RC

RC, So you think I would be ok going with 3000 FHM and say 1000 BG and 1000 CNBG? Going to stock the LMB around June then waiting a year or so then going with 1000 RES? I won't be stocking the HSB.
Thanks very much for your advice. I am just a newbie trying to make good decisions.

I would stock the RES along with the BG. I wouldn't worry about which type. Lusk once told me that CNBG out grew BG. And, I don't second guess Bob.

I agree about waiting one year before stocking LMB. Give the BG a chance to get a bunch of spawns. That said, I might stock the bass a little earlier, about May, while the water is still cooler. June can have some pretty warm water temps.

+1 what Dave said. If your gonna stock them stock them together that will give you all that much more food for your LMB. I also agree to stock bass in April or by mid May. You can put the FHM in there too cause as they spawn they will provide some smaller fish for your growing BG and RES. Then once you put your LMB in there wow they should be fat and happy! I see it says your pond is 1.25 acres. So be careful how many LMB you put in there. Now here is your big decision.

Do you want Large LMB or do your want Large BG? Or do you want a happy medium of both?

So to many LMB and you will have a bunch of 13 inch bass and BIG BG!

I to have a 1 acre pond and I put about 16 LMB in it but they were bigger. Mine were about 10 to 12 inches when I stocked them. And I new I had some left over stunted ones also that I hadn't caught.

If it were me and I was starting from scratch with smaller bass. I would put about 25 to 30 in there. When you do catch one they will be fat and sassy! Plus once they have a spawn you won't have to worry about not having enough bass.... Sooooo many people out here over do the LMB and then in 3 years they are like I have to many I cant get rid of them all.... So just FYI... Good luck man and have fun!!

RC

OH keep this in mind also. I am a BIG LMB fishermen and all I could think about was how I couldn't wait to catch LMB in my pond. Don't get me wrong I still love it!! But I never thought how much I would enjoy catching BG that are over a pound!! That's a fricken blast also!!! Oh and GOOOOOOOD eating!!!

I like the CNBG, RES combo.

CNBG will spawn several times a season which should keep your LMB well feed. The RES do a great job of snail removal in our ponds. They are both fun to catch and taste good.

I want to have decent size LMB and BG. So RC, you wouldn't go with the recommended 200 to 250 LMB per acre? I don't know what to trade off. Less LMB means less chance to catch one when fishing but bigger BG. I would like to split the difference and get both species as large as possible.

Wow NO!! I would not put that many LMB in my pond your asking for trouble once they start to get a bit bigger. If there small I might would go with 75 you need to remember that a one acre pond not fertilized and no air can hold around 50 to 75 pounds of predator fish. Your pond is a bit bigger so lets say 75 pounds. Well you do the math. If you have 50 bass in there that make it and grow , grow , grow, at 2 pounds each that's 100 lbs of predator fish already. Some will be bigger than others yes but your gonna hit your pound predator goal pretty quick for that size pond. Trust me on this less is more in this case.... If your getting 3 to 5 inch bass they are gonna grow fast with all that forage. Before you know it you will have 75 1 pound bass in your pond pushing the limit as to where you should be. So I might do 50 but I would not go over that. Maybe someone else here that has a little more experienced then myself will chime in and tell me if I am off base or not. I have no problem with folks correcting me......

RC

RC, I guess those recommended numbers are from the hatcheries so of course they will say 200-250 per acre.
Ok, I will stay with the numbers you gave. I am glad I asked because I would have had like you said a bunch of 12" bass in a couple years that wouldn't grow. I guess with only 50-75 I will have to work hard to get them to bite.

Consider putting in less. As these LMB grow, you need to cull the ones that are not making the grade. But the ones you put in first are going to have an advantage. So select the ones you really want first. As they spawn, you are going to have to cull a lot of LMB to keep your pond close to a balanced pond.

It is going to be work to have large LMB and large BG in a 1 1/4 acre pond. But it will be fun!

Brian thx for chiming in here. TKD take what Brian says seriously he knows his stuff. Oh don't worry about catching them bass you will be surprised at how they get around in a 1.25 acre pond. And like we said above once they spawn one time you will be like OMG what do I do with all these bass now!! LOL!!

It very important for you to keep and check an RW (Relative Weight) chart to make sure your bass are staying on track as to length and size!!

Brian is right in ponds our size less than 2 acres culling is IMPORTANT!!! I know it sucks and it's hard to take out that nice looking 8 inch bass but if you don't you will end up with tooooo many. You can find great info on RW charts in the archives... Once your bass start to get around a pound it's time to start keeping track. You don't have to weigh and measure every fish when you go out but take a couple and see where they stand... You want to be in that 92 percent and up area.... if you don't watch this you will end up with the large head small body syndrome.... and no one wants that.

The nice things is your bass will keep most your BG in check so you don't really have to cull any BG unless you just want some to eat. But you HAVE to watch your bass in ponds our size. If you do you can end up with fish like this. Or maybe better!!

Awesome info Brian and RC, I will do my best to follow these directions. With the knowledge that both of you have I would be crazy to do anything different. Awesome pics by the way!!!!

No problem always glad to try and help out! Almost everything I have learned about ponds have come from these fine folks right here on PondBoss so glad to pay it forward when I can!!

RC

Once you get wall to wall food, I would stock 50 small(3 to 4 inch) LMB. That delays the day that you have to work really hard on culling. And, after the 2nd year you need to cull any bass 13 inches or less. Catch and release; too small to keep; is fine on public lakes but it ruins private ponds.

I generally tell people that when a bass can go to sleep and wake up with a full belly, it's time to stock them.

BTW, if you were up North where it gets kinda chilly and people have to wear coats, the recommendations change.

Thanks to all of you. Wow, just the info I received today will help so much in retaining a healthy growing pond. Kuddos