Typical New Guy question here. Part owner of a 35 acre lake that was built in 2010 (dam has been rebuilt since, different question for another forum) Lake is spring and runoff fed and seems to be holding water well. 20 feet deep at dam, sloping back into 3 valleys. Nothing stocked yet, seems to have some minnows in it ( unknown species) from small stream that was flooded. Have talked to the KY state fishery guy about stocking and a fish distributor. Fish distributor said 350 lbs of FHM with 5000 CNBG and 2000 RSF now and LMB, Channel Cats next year. KY State says to stock CNBG, RSF and LMB now as stocking the FHM is just another competitor for the plankton. Lake seems to have decent fertility based on color of water. Not looking for trophy lake, just good fishing for retirement.

Bonus Question Black Crappie or not?

Welcome to the forum!

I would love the challenge of a 35 acre lake!

You want good fishing? help us out with a little more detail, you want to catch 1 or 10 bass per hour? Also what do you want in it? Channel catfish are great fun for the kids and tasty too, but if you don't want them you don't have to put them in. Any interest in hybrid bass? I'm not sure about smallmouths in your area. With a lake that size you could consider crappie, or blue catfish, all of which would bring their own management challenges.

Also on a lake this size budget will most likely be the limiting factor on what you stock. Do you have a place on the property you can construct smaller stocker ponds and grow your own forage for this lake?

Also you mention you're part owner, tell us how much of the budget will others help with, and how many people will be fishing it? That's a lot of water, and will be hard to harvest the proper amounts of fish to keep it in balance year after year.

It's all about starting with specific goals, and working towards them with what you have available!

Don't worry about FHM, stock them now and let them reproduce like crazy. They will get your blugill and LMB off to a great start. I would also consider stocking some golden shiners as they are a great fusiform baitfish that are easy to find and relatively cheap. Stock your FHM and CNBG now and wait until next year to add your bass, by then the FHM and CNBG will have multiplied and you will have a better chance of your pond becoming predator heavy. Are you in Kentucky or North Carolina?

Personally I would skip the catfish and crappie but I would add yellow perch as they are not only great table fare but they are good forage for your LMB. Add them in the fall before you stock your LMB so they can spawn in the early spring.

I know I am resurrecting an ancient thread, but finally getting around to stocking my Lake. We had to spend a bit of time and money fixing the levee by putting in a 30" pipe and tons of rock in the spillway. Talking to a few suppliers about numbers. Planning on putting in the FHM, CNBG and RSF this fall and then LMB and CC next fall. After reading an article in a recent PondBoss I'm thinking about splitting the order between different suppliers to diversify the genetics, any thoughts? Goals for the lake are good overall fishing. In other words I will sacrifice Trophy bass size for good Bluegill and Catfish too.

Working on posting some pictures.

Ask the suppliers where the fish that they sell come from. They might be getting them from the same place.

What size are you stocking? I would stock as many adult fish as your pocketbook can stand. Stock adults in addition to your small fish. I would LOVE to have that size lake, except when it comes time to stock it,$$$$$. You might get your adults from one loaction and small from a different. I doubt it matters that much as long as you are getting good quality fish.

I would think crappie would work on that size as well.

Supplier is getting fish from several different sources. Pocketbook can only stand stocking fingerlings. Plan to wait until next fall to stock Bass.

GB - Congrats on finishing the levee and getting ready to move on. First I will tell you that you will get GREAT advice on this forum. I am not downplaying their advice. I would take their trusted advice and then take it one step further. I would reach out to a trusted consultant and pay for a few hours or more of help on this project. You have already spent a ton of money, what is a few dollars more in the grand scheme. Not only will a good consultant listen to your goals but they will suggest numbers, species AND suppliers who they have had success with over the years. Remember, a supplier may be nothing more than a supplier of fish. There are good suppliers who will help you and then there are suppliers who will look at what they have and what they want to sell to you. You can't go wrong putting the FHM's in now. Just one guy's opinion of what I would do if I won the lottery and built a 35 acre lake.

Be sure of your goals !!! What do all the owners want? I will point out to you the main difference between a large lake and a small pond. One is like a train the other like a bike. You can manage/change a small pond like stopping and turning a bike. With a large lake it is like a train - you don't change things easily/fast once its in motion.

Also a large water can make use of pelagic (open water) fish species better. Bob Lusk has managed large lakes of many types all over the US. A short call to him is well worth your time before you start the train rolling.

Thanks for the advice, Bob reached out to me and I plan on calling him. The current numbers for stocking within the next two weeks are:

350 lbs. FHM
14,000 CNBG from three different farms
1750 redear from three different farms
300 lbs. crayfish (optional)

Plan on putting in the LMB next fall. What are thoughts on Golden Shiners and Florida strain LMB.

Ken

Where in NC ? Altitude? Its a close call but probably regular LMB.

Pond is in Western Kentucky.

Interesting thread. Pond was built in 2010 and this thread about stocking was started over two years ago. Can you share why it has not been stocked in all of that time. Inquiring minds want to know.

Bing
Levee was poorly built without a proper pipe and spillway. Lot's of work had to be done before I wanted to put money into fish that might be wasted. New 30 inch pipe and tons of rock put into spillway this summer. Working on posting pics.

Ken

Please keep us posted on Bob's advice!

In a 35 ac lake I would think a ladder stocking plan with hybrid stripers would pay huge dividends in the fun department after a few years. They are an absolute blast to catch and taste great in my opinion.

The main reason I reached out was because I was uncomfortable with the numbers of bluegills posted on his thread. But, after our conversation, I was much more comfortable with his plan. The bluegill numbers posted were way low, but he told me he intends to stock 500 per acre, which is acceptable. He also had some question about bass and bluegill genetics, and we covered that. He seems pretty happy with all the different suppliers he's been talking to, so I'm more confident. If he's happy with numbers and suppliers, and his game plan, that's what I care about.
Here's how I see it...I watch over the forum as best I can, and when I see something amiss, I'll get involved. Sometimes, that's for everyone. Sometimes, it's directed for that individual. For Ken, I'd hate to see him invest all that effort and those dollars only to see his fishery failing several years down the road and watch him try to unpickle that pickle. Just wanted to reinforce that, after habitat, the food chain is the most significant hurdle toward the success of a fishery, especially a bass fishing lake like he wants.