Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Catch and Release mortality and stocking #'s

I have been thinking about this recently in terms of initial stocking numbers. Given that my pond is going to have high fishing pressure and a good amount of kids fishing what % should I factor in as mortality on initial stocking?

For example, I stock 50 HSB, they are fished by kids/adults , what % would make it past 1 yr? I plan on ladder stocking and removing some of the slow growers but honestly I could see some high mortality rates due to gut hook , unsafe handling etc.

Should I increase my initial stocking given this factor?

3/4 acre pond , HSB, YP, HBG, SMB, RES

Very good but hard question to address. Much about fishing morts is based on how the fish is handled , temp (especially HSB) and other stress factors. I would not include fishing morts in species that will reproduce in the pond. On HSB I would stock normally the first time and make adjustments as you see results with those fish. On reproducing populations the idea is to not harvest the initial stockers but manage their offspring.

Some species are more vulnerable to transport and stocking compared to other species.Just a couple at the top of the sensitive list are HSB and trout. The ol'BG can be be sensitive to handling at certain water temps. Quite a bit of survival rate is dependent on the 'stocker' and stocking proceedure and time of year - such as water temp and time the fish were 'held' prior to stocking. Some fish farms are much better at this than others. IMO especially bad are the fish traveling trucks where one does not know how fish have been previoiusly handled and how long fish had been on the traveling truck. Also buying fish locally is often good because the fish farm relies on word of mouth reputation and advertising.

All the above to say this. After stocking it is the responsibility of the pond owner to assess the relative survival rate of the stocked fish. Just because the fish don't float does not mean they survived. IMO the best way to evaluate fish survival is the watch and see how many enter the angler's catch or witness them feeding. Both not real easy tasks. The need for restocking of some fish species is common - depending on numerous items for fish stocker and recipient.

Bill- I was going to try and get to freshwater farms in Urbana tomorrow for some trout, my water is about 8-10 ft deep and even with all the rain we had it is has green tint and visibility up to 2 ft. Any suggestions on the handling and introduction of the trout to the pond? Just planning on pellet feeding and fishing them out come May/June.

Was thinking 20-25lbs for the 3/4 acre pond, no fish currently stocked.

My other stockers will come from Jones Hatchery so I believe on the front end of the mortality and introduction should be very low as those places are pretty reputable.

Given there will not be much natural recruitment on my stocking plan I guess I will just need to try and pay close attention on how the angling and handling affect the growth and population. Part of the reason I chose these fish is the option to ladder stock and easily manage numbers. The other idea was to limit hook shy fish by re-stocking as needed...Just wasn't sure how to factor in those mortalities on the initial stocking numbers...

At this time of year in our area the ice has melted and cold temps of 30's have returned. Open water should be 39F-40F very similar to to that of the trout farm. IMO just get them home quickly and released from the transport container. Freshwater Farms helper will also have release guidelines. Dave Smith (owner) will not be there. There is an OH Aquaculture meeting in Columbus. Smith is Secretary.

25 trout stocked yesterday , 12-16" no takers yet on pellets. Kid said they could be eating within hrs after stocking ...I was thinking it would take more time for them to acclimate before feeding?

To resume feeding on pellets it can occur within hours or a few days. don't add more than a few pellets until the trout beging eating them. Try this - next time you want to add pellets take a stick and swish the water near shore. Or try throwing the pellets down hear into the water so trout hear them hit the water. In your murky water the noise may alert the trout to where human activity is coming from. Fish have to see the pellets to eat them. I assume your water is a lot more cloudy that Freshwater Farms water. How much were the 12" 16" trout. Were they more 12"-13" or 50% of them 15"-16"?

5.99 each, good mix from 12-16" I'd say. Tried throwing pellets from my dock tonight and threw some dried dirt as well to try and draw some attention . No luck, went around the pond and saw none in the shallows and no floaters ....maybe just going to take some time. 2hr transport yesterday and 6-7 were pretty sluggish on release but eventually swam off.

Beastman,

Are you feeding the same pellets the fish farm is using that the trout are already accustomed to eating? Is there an abundance of appropriate natural forage in your pond that the trout might be targeting instead of the pellets?

Yes, same food they use. No forage in the pond .

beastman, my trout have been stocked for close to a month now, and they will only eat early and late in the day, when the sun's lower.

Two other observations are that mine won't move to pellets like BG, and I have to back away from the edge of the pond after I throw food to get them to eat. RBT seem to be more wily than sunfish. Just a guess though.

Fish farm thinks it could be low oxygen , asked if I had aerator running . Didn't realize aeration was a requirement? When I purchased explained my situation and current state of the pond.

If there are no other fish in the pond and given the time of year and the green water tint I doubt it is low O2. My guess would be time and water temp.

Yeah, took me a bit by surprise saying it could be low oxygen given there are no other fish in the pond , no decomposed plants yet , etc.. Hopefully it is just taking some time, water has a green tint and visibility still about 2 feet. Pond is around 8-10 feet deep right now as it continues to fill. I would think I would see some floaters or at least some at the surface struggling? I did see one on the surface about an hour after stocking struggling a bit but nothing else yet. 2 hour transport , 5 in each 14"x14" container with extra oxygen. The stockers were from inside the fish shelter and not from the outside tanks. Could be temperature difference issues?

My plan is to aerate but was probably going to install later this year or even next Spring.

Quick changes in water temp can be a problem and should be avoided. It may not be as big a problem with cool water fish like trout.

I doubt very much that Beastman's concern will involve low DO. It is January water is 39F and it holds lots of DO at these temperatures. It is very hard and rare to have a DO sag in 39F open water with wind action with occasional sunshine in Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar in Ohio. Plus he has a slight bloom what produces lots of DO. IMO look at other options if there is a problem.

It isn't unusual for trout to take their time at the feed trough after transport and stocking into new water. Keep in mind they were raised to their larger sizes in one distinct environment, with specific parameters of water chemistry, feeding regime, crowded conditions and steady conditioning. Now, they are much fewer in number, in totally different water. They make take a couple of weeks to figure out a new feeding program. Be sure to be completely consistent with feeding, same place, same time, every day if possible.

Some signs of life tonight, trying to feed the same time each evening. A few came up but not very strong, at least I know some made it. Makes sense on their environment really changing and taking some time. Saw a couple swimming about as well....hopefully in time they will all be feeding. Thanks for the responses. Once they start feeding strong will try and take photos/video.

The feeding has improved over the last 2 weeks, still doesn't look like 25 are actively feeding at the same time. I would estimated maybe 10 or so doing most of the feeding. Do you think the others are waiting till the food sinks or just not feeding yet? The one's that are feeding are pretty active.

Could be that only about half made it ? No other forage in the pond so the pellets would be it.

Dead fish don't always float, so there's really no way to know how many made it, and how many died.

beastman in my opinion one important factor in survival rate of stocker fish can be the size of the stocker fish.

Of course if no predators are present it doesn't matter much.

In my first year (with predators present) I went quantity and I believe a lot of the stockers got eaten.

Ever since then I have gone with smaller quantities, but larger stocker fish.

Larger size blue gill, larger size tilapia, larger size bass...hoping larger has a better chance at survival than something quite small.

I suppose it can work either way....but for about the same price I sometimes will stock like eighteen 6-8 inch bass vs stocking fifty 2-3 inch bass.

I take my chances with the larger variety....but it's 2EachHisOwn.

Yes, no predators present ...trout are the only fish in the water right now, water clarity is good and my pond is filling pretty quick so decided to take a chance on 12-16" trout.

I will be stocking advanced size of YP, HBG, HSB, RES, and SMB from the start , and any additional stocking will be advanced size as well.

Original post was more curious on how to factor in angler mortality especially with numerous kids fishing the pond. Really no easy way to determine and probably too many variables. I just know there will be heavy kid fishing pressure so I would not be surprised to have 15-20% mortality in the first year on the stockers. Given that estimate, should it factor in my initial stocking plans? Some will depend on the species as I'm sure HSB will be more vulnerable etc..