My pond is just about full, 8" from it. I know it is starting to warm up so I want to get some forage fish in before it gets too late.
Here is the run down of my pond:
- It ended up being about 1.25 acre according to google maps.
- I have a good bit of structure and lots of shore line.
- My plans have always been to have a self sustaining pond with BG and LMB.
- I may feed by hand a few times a week but will not have a feeder setup and do not want them dependent on the food.
- I am currently not aerating but will try to have a setup in place in the next year or two.
- My average depth is 10'-12' with a few deep holes that are 18-20' and some shallow shelves that are 4-6'.
With the above stated, what kind of stocking numbers should I go with? From local fish farms I have heard from 2000-3000BG and 300-500LMB which seems high on the LMB. One guy said I do not need FHM (which I am pretty sure I do) and do put the bass in with the BG (I do not think it is a good idea).
Another guy which I have a better feeling about recommended 1500BG and 150LMB with 10-15lbs FHM if I am not feeding and 3000BG/300LMB if I am feeding. Are these good numbers? He also said that I can put the LMB in the pond this fall or wait till next spring. I am leaning towards next spring. Which would be better?
He has native BG and CNBG available and said that CNBG has been more popular. Which would be a better choice and why with this setup? I was going to stock 25% RES but he said he will not have any available until June, would that be too late to add them?
Sorry for so many questions and thanks for the help.
If you put in the forage fish 6 months to 1 year ahead of any predators, it can help reduce the upfront stocking numbers of the forage fish.
Greg Grimes had posted some off-the-chart growth rates by greatly juicing up the initial stockings of forage fish.
If I was you, I'd get fathead minnows, threadfin shad, Coppernose Bluegill, into the pond right away.
As far as the numbers, the more the merrier, but they'll all have a chance to spawn; there is an upper limit of what biomass the pond can sustain, so you can't just go and put in like 10,000 Bluegill...
I would say the numbers recommended to you by the fish farms are high to extremely high. From your stated goals, it would seem you are looking for a self sustaining balanced pond. As far as a stocking plan, I'd stock these species at this time:
ASAP:
FHM- 5 lbs
BG- 2"-4" 600(Coppernose or native are fine, you can mix them if you like, but you are far enough south where coppernose will excell)
RES- 2"-4" 150
This fall or next year depending on availability:
LMB-2"-4" 125
Other species to consider:
HSB-10 or so annually or biannually(great bonus fish, won't reproduce in your pond so minimal issues of them affecting the balance)
CC-(Stock the number you expect to harvest per year for eating, if you don't plan to harvest them for eating, I wouldn't stock them. Keep the numbers under 50 per year, especially if not supplemental feeding regularly.)
GSH-1-2 lbs stocked with your LMB(They can be a good additional forage for your bass but aren't necessary and will compete some with your BG for food resources. I would only stock these if you want to lean a bit more towards the LMB than the sunfish in priority)
Species not to stock:
Crappies-Too much management needed to produce a reliable quality fishery with your stated goals.
Threadfin shad-Generally will not do well in ponds under 3-5 acres.
Gizzard shad-Can get extremely large, in excess of 18" and grow so fast they become too big for any predatory fish to feed on. This causes them to take up large amounts of biomass in the pond and they directly compete with BG for food resources.
Other species, are probably not suitable for a southern pond or like with the crappies, require extensive management practices to produce a reliably quality fishery.
Thanks for the info. Yes I am looking for a self sustaining pond. The only feed they will get is a occasional snack from my little girls. Would it hurt anything to go overboard on the FHM? I was planning on going with the 3-4K, which depending on size will be anywhere from 10-15lbs. Your numbers seem to be more inline with my parish extension agent's numbers, though a little lower. I like the HSB idea, I will have to check on availability. I do not want CC, so that is a no go. I have had issues locating GSH, but will put some with the LMB if I find them when that time comes.
BTW, The pond is loaded with bull frogs, are they a good addition to the LMB food source?
How detrimental are turtles to pond balance? I have dispatched some from the pond, but there are still some in it.
I am surprised you are having issues finding GSH. It's not going to hurt anything to go "overboard" with FHM. Just keep in mind, they do reproduce rather fast and produce large numbers. When no predators are present, they are extremely prolific...
Frogs are a good LMB food source, I just wouldn't expect them to becheck the back bone of the fishery.
Turtles shouldn't create any major issues. They will occasionally catch a healthy fish, but that is rare.
With a pond that size I would stock GSH with the FHM, extra forage is rarely a bad thing! You can get hundreds of thousands of fry from here:
http://www.andersonminnows.com/foragefish.htm for very reasonable prices. Stock them now along with the fhm and then wait a few weeks/months to add the bluegill (so they don't wipe out the GSH fry before they have a chance to grow and get established) and you should be good to go. Definitely listen to CJBS2003 he really knows his stuff and has been an invaluable resource to me with my pond!
I will be picking up some of my fish in the morning. It is a 1.5 hour drive to get them. I will be picking up CNBG which are 1.5-2" so I bumped the number up to 1000. Due to the weather he was not able to pull any FHM but said he can have them ready next week. I think I will wait to get the FHM in June when the RES will be ready. When they are ready I will get 250 RES and 4K FHM. That will put me stocking the LMB next spring. How does this plan sound?
That will work. Ask him if you can pick up some larger CNBG next time you come to pick up the FH and RES. Get about 30 4-5 inch CNBG in with the RES. That would put you on course to stock LMB early next spring. Get 30-35 6-8 inch LMB to stock then.
Well I released 1100 CNBG Saturday morning. Everyone swam off with no problems. I walked the edge several times throughout the day to check for any casualties, and everything looked good. Later that night I checked again with my flash light. I didn't realize but my pond is loaded with tadpoles. all the way around right at the water's edge were 2-3.5" long tadpoles. I have seen bullfrogs, green tree frogs, bronze frogs, along with gulf coast toads in/around the pond. Is there anyway to identify what type of tadpoles I have? I am guessing they will be good LMB forage. Mid June is when my RES will be ready along with 4K FHM.