Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Creating the food chain What size GSH to stock?

Or rather what would be a better value for the long haul?

Here's the deal. Groundwater based pond. Will fluctuate 5'-6' in depth. Current depth is low at 4', pond could fill up to a full pool depth of 10'-12'. Pond completed August 2010. Will vary is size from roughly 7/8 ac to 2 ac depending on water level. Sides are 2:1 or steeper. Pond filled to 4' depth last year, 5# FHM and roughly 200+ Bardello fingerling BG were stocked last Fall. No signs of any winterkill. 200 PS will be stocked this Spring, and plans to stock fingerling LMB are in the future. LCS are on the stocking schedule if they can be sourced from Todd Overton.

The biggest question is GSH. Andersons has the million fry bag, but there are NO submerged weeds in the pond, and the only other cover is 1 tree and 5-6 Oak root balls. I don't see submerged weeds getting established due to the fluctuating water levels. Current visibility is right around 36". The ice just left the pond this week (still had a 60' diameter piece floating around today, but temps tomorrow will be in the high 60's.)

If roughly $250-$300 was allocated for GSH, what size would you stock, what quantity and why?
Choices are:
One million fry
2"-4" GHS
Adult brooder GSH

I know the pond stocking is lite on BG, but the owner wanted to stock light because of the fluctuating water level. I agree with his thinking - better to stock lite and have too much water for them than to stock heavy and run out of water. More Bardello BG fingerlings could be stocked this Fall.

The pond is aerated, but no supplemental feeding will be done.

I would go with as many large GSH as you can get, then throw in a bunch of evergreen trees.

I'd stock the 2"-4" middle range GSH. Many of them will be just hitting maturity and often times, the smaller fish produce more eggs than the larger adults because of parasites that affect the ovaries. Fluctuating water levels can be good for GSH. If you have your friend plant rye grass along the edge, it'll sprout and then when it gets flooded, it'll turn into prime spawning material. Fry will be expensive snacks... Plus, fish generally spawn at better times for fry survival. However, when you dump a box of 250,000 fry in, what was going on in the brooding ponds of the hatchery most likely isn't going on hundreds of miles away in the eventual home pond. Plus, you get one big blast of 250,000 fry. Where as naturally, GSH spread their spawning out over an extended period meaning higher chance of successful conditions being present for at least some of the fry to do well.

I look at it this way... State agencies generally only stock fry because they are cheaper, not because they do better. If you can stock 500 2"-4" GSH, I feel your going to have a better chance at establishment in the pond you describe than stocking 250,000 fry.

2"-4" GSH without a doubt. I stocked nearly 1 million of Anderson's fry and they were all dead within several days, unknown why but I will never deal with Fry again in any conditions/situations.

SK63...Long time no see!!!

How is the pond doing after the work on your inflow?

Hey Rex!
The pond is doing better, seem to be making progress slowly but surely. We need to talk later in the spring