Hey friends,

Just introducing myself. I have a place in Pike County, Illinois. I have a small pond bult into a bluff side by damming up a deep ravine. It's a beautiful little 1.25 acre pond that's been under managed or just plain neglected.

I just removed all the trees in my dam and had an excavator regrade and repack the damn surface, we also strategically added 1k lbs of Bentonite clay in spots that appeared soft. The next step is to start stocking fish. Our goals is to create a friendly fishing hole for kids and adults where we can catch good fish for fish frys.

I'm new and always open to the advice of those with more knowledge than I.

Thanks you!
Matt

The "classic" Midwest pond has BG, RES, and LMB, but it might be best to start with FHM and let them reproduce for a year as forage for the other fish. This gets the ones that you'll be catching to a good size. To keep the fish from stunting, my neighbor removes about 50 keeper BG (but <8") a year to eat, and also pulls out LMB between 8 and 12". This is for a "mature" pond. My friend's kids have a blast catching (and releasing) BG. My kids are in their early 20s and have other interests right now, but they fished and swam in the pond a bunch growing up. BG will nip swimmers, but my kids did not care.

My pond is over by Mark Twain Lake on the Missouri side. Should get about the same weather as you get. I went with a slightly different stocking plan. More of a northern type plan. I have RES, YP, and SMB. With some GSH, HBG and HSB thrown in. I really am happy with what is happening so far. Lots of YP to catch that are great to eat. Planning in the next year or so to start harvesting some SMB and HSB. I put my FHM in the fall before I stocked everything else. That gave them the early spring to get started. I still have lots of them along the banks. I may never be able to pull a 10 lb LMB or CC out, but my grandkids can catch fish all day long..
Just a thought about a little different stocking plan than you usually see in our part of the country.

My second pond is a RES/GSH/YP/SMB pond. Have not yet wetted a line in it though.

Update: Finally did some casting with a 2.5" silver hard-bait minnow lure. Spent about 30 minutes fighting with the middle-aged German Shepherd who thinks her job is to chase the lure into the water. Only caught 2 fish but the shallows are full of fish the same size and shape (fusiform) as my lure. Caught a 6" GSH near the outlet tube, and then hooked what I thought was a log on the opposite side of the pond, followed by a bit of fun. One of the 10 SMB that I added last year was still around. I was using 4-lb line, and even though I estimate that the fish was just over a foot long, I felt that I needed to fight it for at least a minute to keep from busting the line. Don't think that I ever caught a SMB before, but now I see what all the excitement is about. Can't wait for them to get another year of growth and see a kid hook into one! It was one fat fish!

I agree. That's what I've always caught and thought is an easy option.

I've had one plan drafted up that was more of a northern Midwest plan including YP and SMB, even a small amount of WE sinc my pond is partially spring fed.

SetterGuy - who stocked your lake? There are some guys south west of Bowling Green and another hatchery west of Quincy.

Thanks!!

SMB do not persist where LMB are present.

Huh. Is that so? I wonder why?

I'll just have to keep the LMB and not pay extra for the smallies.

I got almost all my fish from Rainman. Rex is easy to get ahold of. He's here on the forum. I received no surprises or mystery fish from him.