We moved this summer to a new home. The old place has a small <1/2 acre pond with BG and LMB.

New pond is an old clay pit that is about 1/2 acre and probably 20ft or more deep. It currently has catfish and an abundance of GSF and some BG. from early fishing I would say GSF are the dominant.

There is no bass. I want to get the bass population going. I plan to stock 12" or so from other farm ponds.

how many should I try to stock? should I be worried about eh GSF population. There is no draining this pond.

Please explain 'there is no draining this pond'

Can't be done?
legal issues?
No access to equipment to drain?
No power?

GSF may stay dominant forever despite LMB. Is that a problem?

If you can't drain the water or choose not to, you may want to engage a thorough fish kill, that way you don't have to drain but still will have a fighting chance of changing the balance of fish in the pond.

sorry. I meant just due to the nature of how it was made as a clay pit. there is no dam really to speak of, no access to equipment, etc.

I don't have a problem with GSF, just always heard they were a nuisance. I am a LMB guy and really would like that population to thrive. the GSF make it easy for the kids to catch fish.

First let me say I am no expert but several are here and I expect some will join in. If it were me, I would look at the size of the fish that are in the pond. A lmb can eat up to 1/3rd it's size and maybe a little larger. So what size lmb are you planning on stocking? Since I have no idea on how many of these forage fish are there, but assuming there is a large amount of them, I would add 20 to 25 lmb in the 14 to 15" size, weighing and measuring them at stocking and continue to measure and weigh them through fishing. Compare to the relative weight chart here and then adjust numbers keeping the females in the pond and reducing or remove the males. Females will grow larger than the males. Also remove any of the lmb that are slow growing or look poor.

Tracy

Thanks Tracy,

The sizes of the sunfish/bluegill vary. there are several sizes ranging from larger than my hand all the way down to fingerling size. I really think a LMB population would grow some pretty good sized fish. You described exactly what I plan to do. I plan to transplant about 25 12"+ LMB into the pond from a neighbors pond (much cheaper than buying them at about $10/pound). thanks for the input. I need to find the chart you are referring to though

If you want fast growth, only stock 12-15 of them. 25 would be 100/acre and for growing larger LMB that is too many.

Relative weight chart link

Ok makes sense. great thanks.

Be careful what pond you get your stocker Bass from. One issue is that they could be old 12-15" fish that stunted from lack of food and have lost the potential for your anticipated growth.

See, I said some experience would show up

Tracy

You might be able to drain it with a pump. You'd be amazed how much water they can move.

Some thoughts on your view that $10.00 per pound is too expensive.

If you bought 20 twelve inch bass they would weigh 1/2 pound each. If my puny math is correct that would be about ten pounds and $100.00. (I am not sure if you can source just 20 bass, but it might be worth a try).

$100.00 may seem high, but you eliminate so many issues mentioned in others comments here, like stunted old 12 inch bass, fish carrying parasites, etc. Also, there is time and effort (yeah I know it is fishing) in catching bass from others ponds and transporting them.

It isn't my $$$ but spending $100.00 on fishery bass would seem to me to be a bargain with great benefits.

OK EDIT. After a lot more fishing I do NOT have a GSF issue. They are all bluegill. There are several different sizes ranging from too small to catch to some really nice slabs.
It is a new home and I hadn't had much time fishing. Upon my memory I thought what I was catching was GSF but they are not.
I have caught and stocked 7 bass so far ranging from about 7or8 inches to about 12. I plan to add a few more over the fall.

Good luck with the new place Derek.

If you mentioned the numbers and condition of your catfish, I missed it. Is there any evidence they are breeding? Are they bull heads or channels? Muddy water?

Thanks. No I did not mention it. As far as I know there are no bulkheads. I have only seen 2 or 3 cats that are probably 5lb or so while feeding leftover food the old owners left. Not sure how many there are though.