We own an old pond on site of old homestead in far NE Texas. About .75 acres, partially seep/spring fed so never goes dry, about 10' deep at dam, tailing to a few inches at other end. Decent cover in pond. After fishing it many times (we just acquired the land last year, so don't know the history of it), we've seen nothhing but palm-size GSF come out of the pond, and they are quite prevalent.
My goal is to have a fishable population of bass and catfish, and maybe some BG. A local fishery recommended stocking the following, and I wanted to get some feedback from this group:
200 6-8" catfish
400 2-4" Coppernose BG
200 2-4" Redear SF
7lbs fathead minnows
Then come back this fall and stock 50 3" F-1 hybrid bass. He also strongly suggested feeding this year to help the food chain fish as well as the catfish, in advance of introducing the bass this fall.
Thoughts?
That sounds pretty workable to me. I might cut back on the catfish to about 75. Do you know anything about the ponds fertility?
Is the seep/spring in the pond or above it?
Dang, it's a long way from Houston to NE Texas. How would you maintain and fill the feeder?
I agree with Dave...maybe cut back on the catfish a bit. 50-100 catfish in a .75 acre pond should be plenty, and if you have them on feed, that would definitely help keep them away from your small bass when you stock them.
Another thought to consider is the green sunfish that are currently in the pond...they are pretty aggresive and a "palm-sized" one (in my opinion) would definietly be capable of eating a 3" bass.
The seep is actually in the pond, and I don't know anything about its history or fertility. Re: feeding, I get up there about every 6 weeks or so, and am expecting that I can make a 40 gallon feeder go that long.
Re: the 3" bass this fall, maybe I should go bigger, 6-8", to reduce predation by the GSF. The biggest GSF we've seen thus far is about 4.5-5" long nose-to-tail.
And re: feeding, should I feed spring to fall each year, or just this first year while I get the food chain started?
Feed Spring through Fall but I doubt that 40 pounds will last 6 weeks.
If the seep is in the pond, it is a water table seep spring. If the water table drops, it will draw pond water back into that aquifer.
40 gallon feeder...not 40 lbs! :-) I expect it will hold almost 200 lbs of feed at a time, 150 anyway.
What do you think is in the pond now - species and sizes? If you have big GSF then probably there is another predator in there or the GSF would be small.
If you have adult LMB then you want 5 inch CNBG and RES. Numbers are ok. On the CC I would cut that back to 50 so they will grow and not crowd the pond. As you catch some then add some more.
I would not stock LMB until I knew what was there now.
Have seen nothing but 4-5" and smaller GSF...what constitutes a "big" GSF anyway? And they really react when you chunk in a bit of worm under a bobber, hitting it pretty quickly.
Question: If I need to reduce the population of GSF--which I clearly do--do I still want to feed the new fish instead of letting the CC start feeding on the GSF? Or would that hinder the growth of the CNBG and RES too much?
Those are average sized GSF.7 to 8 inches would be big. You really have to have a good idea of what is there before stocking suggestions decisions can be made. Putting in adult 4 inch + BG and RES would not hurt. Nor would stocking a few CC at 6-8 inches. The FH are a good idea but will likely be eaten. Over the next few mths see if any other predators are in there (LMB). I would feed the new fish and harvest a few GSF.
Sounds like a plan. I'll start feeding the new fish, but have a week or two prior to them arriving, so will try to trap as many GSF as I can in the meantime. Probably won't make a dent, but what the heck.
And if nothing else, the fatheads may take some pressure off of the CNBG and RES by the GSF.
Why do you have to reduce the GSF population?
Although they don't get as large as a BG or CNBG, they will outfight them every time. It's OK to try to cull them but I doubt that you can really make a difference.
BTW, this weekend, if I can get a friend to help, I will seine my forage pond. I will toss the BG, RES and GSF all into the same pond. I really don't have a problem with them. The BG will out spawn them every time and, over time, the GSF will be gone. With their limited fecundity they can't hold up to predation or competition for food.
It's not every day that I have to go look up a word, but you got me with "fecundity"...! :-)
But maybe (quite likely) I am confused: I thought that, over time, GSF cross-breed with bluegill, and their genes are dominant, thus eventually ending back up with a population of GSF?
But if you guys are telling me to quit sweating the small stuff (such as GSF), I am sure willing as there are just too many other things with this land that I can be focusing on...having said that, it is a blast learning something entirely out of my realm of experience.
Thanks to all for the advice and comments!
I thought that, over time, GSF cross-breed with bluegill, and their genes are dominant, thus eventually ending back up with a population of GSF? --- No. BG and GSF will first try to spawn with their kind and they are both very protective. They will cross in some cases but not normal in a standard pond situation. Once they cross they are HBG and can not go back to either BG or GSF. HBG offspring are not wanted due to outbreeding depression. BG will out reproduce GSF all other things being equal.
Why do you have to reduce the GSF population? --- To increase the BG fry and FH survival rate. Same for LMB stockers if small ones are used. Also to have less competition for the pellets so BG can eat and grow faster. I would take out bigger GSF by angling not necessarily trap the small ones.
Wildcat, I don't know a lot of 4 syllable words so I try to throw one in every now and then.