This is my first post but I have been a long time lurker and learner on this forum! Thank you all for some wonderful information you have posted!

I have a 3/4 acre pond in central Illinois that was dug in August 2015. The deepest hole is 26 ft. I installed an aeration system in October 2016 and use it on an "as needed" basis, i.e., ice cover and will start it up probably late Spring and run it through Summer. I have installed pallets for structure and have left some standing and fallen trees from the building stage. The pond will generally be used to teach my grandchildren the beauty of nature and the sport of fishing. No great incentive to raise trophy fish but good size bass would be a goal. As of now it is baitfish only. Plans are for LMB, BG, CC.

In the Spring of 2016 I stocked 20 lbs. of FHM and 10 lbs. GS. In Sept. I found about 40 LCS to stock. I have considered Papershell Crawfish this year but I have some natives in the pond already so wasn't sure they were needed. I don't have much structure for crawfish. I plan on letting the baitfish do there thing again this year which will make 2 years of bait production.

My question is, what is the best procedure for predator stocking? I've read to stock BG in the Fall to give them a head start before the LMB in the Spring and have also read stock both in the Spring. Thank you for any and all suggestions!

Why not add them now? I'm new here too.

I would like to gain another year of bait production first. By the end of this year I should be able to walk across the pond on tha backs of FHM and GS! The bass will go crazy in growth with that much bait!

Hunter,

Right or wrong, I think of it this way. Since you are not stocking LMB until fall....I would stock a few adult BG this spring. By fall, they will have produced lots of 1 to 3 inch BG to greet your LMB when you stock them. If you stock a bunch of 1 to 3 inch BG now, they will be too big for your new LMB to eat in the fall but they might pull off a late summer spawn.

Just my 1 cent

Bill D.

Two season of spawns on bait fish will should fill the pond with them.

Hunter, u mentioned fishing the family and I would suggest u look into the HSB. They grow fast( will double in size the early years), provide a big fight when caught. For me I would go that route instead of CC but that's me. And if golden shiners or green sunfish were added they go great with the hsb. And stock the bg asap this spring.

Ok, now you have me thinking! HSB! I need to go back to the archives and start reading!

If I stock HSB instead of LMB does that change the stocking strategy for stocking BG as forage?

Use the LMB and add the HSB (20-30 in 0.7ac) in place of the numbers for CC. You can always add the CC later if you determine you need CC. HSB will be a much better and exciting fish for your stated goals than CC. LMB and HSB live well together. If you are planning on stocking fingerling LMB then consider adding them and the BG this spring. HSB can also be added this spring or this fall. In the north it is generally not as important to stock BG ahead of LMB especially if you don't want trophy bass and just 4-6, maybe some 7 lbs, will meet your goals.

You have a year's worth of two "minnow" species production. Minnow hereafter is FHM & GSH. IMO two years worth can often result in an overpopulation of minnows where they start to become stunted and not growing well unless you are adding ample ground pellets or fertilizing to feed(plankton) the exponentially expanding populations in numbers and biomass of minnows.

You can tell if your minnow crop is trending toward stunting if you are seeing many or a dominance of 1" minnows instead of 2-2.5" minnows. Minnows/shiners grow fast when there is ample food. A pond can quickly be overgrazed of zooplankton (food limiting) when minnows are overabundant and food becomes limiting for the overabundant minnows. Ideally minnow production needs to be cropped to keep all growing normally and well based on the food source.

If you stock bass-HSB & BG this spring get the pellet trained LMB; HSB are always farm raised on pellets. They may not immediately resume eating pellets due to high numbers of minnows. Feed pellets - this will provide good food for fast BG growth, feed the minnows, and if the LMB-HSB resume eating pellets, it will take some predation pressure off the minnows so they still manage to maintain an abundant supply going into fall,winter of 2017-2018.

Thank you for all the great information Bill! My family will be excited to hear about adding the predators this Spring! Watching minnows explode in numbers is exciting but then you need more!