Have a 3/8 acre pond newly constructed this Summer. The deep end is filled so far with about 2 feet of water and is pooled about 50 x 30 feet. (10 ft depth eventually)Hopefully pond will be mostly filled at end of next spring. Anyways could I stock minnows now?

I live in snowbelt and the water is of course muddy with clay bottom and will be frozen over with probably a foot of snow all this winter. Or would it be best to wait FHM until Spring?.. then stock in Fall? Just trying to get a jump on things.....

First step: Get the water tested. If OK, I would go ahead and toss in some fatheads. A water hole without fish is just a wet hole. Buy some feed and hand feed them. They won't be able to graze in muddy water.

FWIW I built my pond fall of 2013 but did not stock the FHM until spring of 2014. My rationale, right or wrong, was that FHM have a short life span and will not breed during the winter anyway so I did not see an advantage to a fall stocking in a new pond. I actually considered it a plus to let the pond develop the basic elements in the food chain before stocking.

Not a pro. Just my 1 cent.

Heres your back up rationale Bill D. http://fisheries.tamu.edu/pond-management/species/fathead-minnows/