Long time reader, first time poster:

To make a long story short, I am the proud owner of a newly constructed pond in far Western Kentucky. In addition to property beautification and runoff control, the primary purpose of the pond will be to provide hours of outdoor entertainment for my family and I.

I am particularly fond of LMB fishing and would like to concentrate on establishing the proper environment for them.

The pond is almost complete and should be right at 1 acre at full pool, with a max debt of about 12-15 feet and an average debt of 8 feet.

I know I am still a long way from stocking, but I would like to start working on a plan now. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I continue to read as much as I can.

I assume when you say that you are fond of LMB you mean you would like to grow big fish. The easiest way to do so is to stock BG as forage and stock less LMB than normal to give each fish more food. I'm no expert but 500 BG and 40 LMB is a good place to start. But before you stock gamefish you need to get cover in the pond and forage, namely FHM.
That's my 2 cents

I would be great to have a pond full of 6 lbers, but that sounded cliche to me and a goal that everyone aspires to. In reality, LMB are just my favorite to fish for.

Thanks for the input

It's possible to have a lot of big fish if there are less small fish. The large amount of BG will shrink LMB recruitment which gives the grown bass more food.
Doing this you give up good BG fishing as 5lb LMB can eat good sized gills and there will not be a lot of bass but they will be big.

Josh, the standard recommendation for ponds was 10 BG for every LMB. I say "was" because, if you want large LMB, you'd do much better stocking more BG and fewer bass.

In your shoes, I'd stock first FHM (along with suitable breeding sites) for a few months, then BG. Wait on LMB until next season. If your budget can stand it, feed BG to increase growth & reproduction rates.

When you do stock LMB, put in one for every 25 to 30 BG you stocked originally. Again, this assumes you want big bass.

Female only LMB would be ideal, but very hard to pull off. In your neck of the woods I wouldn't go with Fla LMB nor F1, they won't thrive with your winters.

Western Ky generally has fertile soil,so large LMB are not out of the question. Some of the best fishing in the state is at Kentucky/Barkley lake and Malone.

Once you have 3 to 4 feet of water in the basin of your pond,put in fat head minnows but no predators,bluegills,bass,catfish etc.

They should overwinter fine and will survive our few days of ice on the pond surface. Don't be tempted to jump start bass growth by adding some too soon.

I suggest you call Paul Rister,western district fisheries biologist at 1-270-753-3886 for his opinion. I,ve dealt with a number of ky's biologists thru the yrs and found them always helpful.

The magazine,"Kentucky Afield" is only $18.00 for two years and like Pond Boss magazine it is well worth the price. No, I'm not a paid promoter for them but i've subscribed to PB for twenty yrs and KA for at least fourty yrs. Great reading,both!

Good luck with your pond,you're going to love it!

Thanks for the recommendations. I am located about 30 west of kentucky lake but don't fish there much. I have always preferred the farm ponds and clay/gravel pit lakes here. I have been fortunate enough to catch several 5+ lbers with my personal best being right at 7. All of those were caught in bigger bodies of water so I didn't know if it was even possible on a small pond. I guess my main goal is to have a place where the kids and I go go catch a few fish!


I have met Mr Rister once as I had him do a shock test on our neighborhood pond after a fish kill. He definitely is a wealth of knowledge.

Josh
I'd be interested in hearing what your plan is. I have a 35 acre lake in Crittenden County that I am stocking this fall.

Ken