Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Want to add forage fish this spring

I added 25 LMB, 200 HSB, and 200 eye's to my 3.5 acre pond last fall, along with 40 lbs of GS's and 60 lb's of FHM. The pond had an existing population of BG(alot), YP(a few), and CC(never seen or caught one). I now want to add more forage this spring. My question is, should I plant more FHM, ,more GS, or purchase GS from Anderson minnow farm and get 250,000 little buggers to hopefully grow up and feed everybody? I have added ALOT of structure to my pond this last summer and winter, mostly clean wood pallets stacked 4 or 6 high, tied and weighted with cement blocks and sunk in shallow areas.

Hi Michfish.. quite a stew you have a brewin'.. Sounds like a wonderful pond. How are the current populations (sizes of various fish)? What were the sizes and quantity of the BG and YP before the fall stocking? You put in lots of forage, but it gets eaten quickly. How big were the shiners you stocked?? I like the Andersons GS, but I think some of it depends how your population is balanced. Also, do you feed??

Hey Aaron, I am excited about whats going here with this pond....its kind-a like my dream thing!!!! About 8 years ago,when the pond was first dug, it was less than an acre and I planted only FHM that first year, They did VERY well. The next year I planted 100 CC, 200 YP, 200 HBG. Haven't seen at cat since. I caught some nice 14" YP last summer and some small ones. I have way too many small BG and wanted to "reduce the herd" so I finally put in some predators last year. I have fed with pellets but not that much. I purchased a feeder this year and one of those Bo Jo fish lights. The GS were 4" long. I do want to have a population of CC and I don't know what happened to the ones I planted??

It's amazing how 100 CC can just disappear in a 3.5 acre pond. If you start to consistently feed at the same time and place each day, if any are in your pond you will find out shortly... I would guess there are still plenty of the 100 still left and probably a nice size by now... If they have spawning structure, you may have many more than 100...

Getting forage fish to establish themselves in a predator rich pond can be tricky. FHM are about impossible to keep in a pond with predators let alone get established once predators are present... So I wouldn't waste your money on them unless you just intend for them to be a quick snack.

Besides the pallets, do you have any other cover present in your pond? Aquatic vegetation, tree tops, etc? Also, are there any substantial shallow areas? In my experience, it is VERY hard to keep a population of just about any forage fish species present long term in a pond that has extremely steep banks with almost no shallow areas. It may keep cattails and SAV under control, but it doesn't help forage fish to prosper...

HBG are not good forage base as they do not reproduce much. You may want to consider stocking pure strain BG into your pond.

GSH are probably your only serious options for solely forage fish in your pond. There are several other species but they are not available commercially and require they be collected from the wild.

Last month my bother-in-law brought over his new under water camera and we punched a hole in the ice, dropped a baited line and followed it down on the screen. It was pretty cool to see the fish actually taking the bait. Our vision was only about 3 feet. They look bigger on TV--LOL. But no CC?? I have a deep hole in the pond at about 25 feet. Didn't get to view it that time. Wondering if they are down there??


There is a fair amout of aquatic vegetation in the shallower areas of the pond and lots of little BG's. Those little 2-4" are very agressive. I don't like swimming in there because they BITE, and BITE HARD.
My dog likes to wade in the shallows for hours and catch fish. Her nipples will be bleeding and scabbed up from those little
B---.

what about freshwater shrimp for forage? i am not talking about grass shrimp (small) but the kind of shrimp that farmers raise in southern ohio and sell late in the summer?

I've put maybe 50 or so CC in my pond from two to five years in the past, and I have never seen them again. The pond is 6-7 acres.

I even put in (3) albino CC's that were about 27" long and 6-7 pounds each in the thoughts that I'd see Moby Dick from time to time. Never saw them again either.

I do throw feed and I've never seen any CC come to eat.

I think you are referring to freshwater prawns... They are tropical species as I recall. They are put in grow out ponds when waters hit the right temp and are harvested before cold sets in. I do not believe there are any larger shrimp adapted to ponds. There is a larger shrimp native to Ohio but it is only found in rivers and is semi catadramous in that they must descend the river to spawn in brackish water.

Wow! 27" long albino CC that just up and disappeared! Not like a bass ate them...

Things that make you go HMM!!

Speaking of the shrimp, what about crayfish? Are they a good supplemental forage base?

They can be, subject to availability and proper species identification. See the Archive thread on Mudbugs.

Brian, here is a link to the crawdad archives.

Theo Gallus, faster than a speeding JHAP.

Oh sure Theo, swoop in while I'm looking for the archive thread, post the link and look like the hero. Dang glory hog.

Brian, click on my link, I could really use the commission check.

Holy Moly, he did it again!!!!

Don't feel bad. It's that 3 hour time difference between here and the left coast.

Sounds like a collection of short stories for hillbillies, and each story ending with "Y'all come back now, hear?"

All seriousness aside, I'm delighted with my crawfish forage. The large ones of course are great LMB forage. The tiny babies are very numerous in spring, and excellent forage for small BG, RES, and crappie. The 1/2-1" young are great forage for mature BG, RES, and smaller LMB. The crawfish hatch is very timely, providing bountiful forage just when it's needed most for pre-spawn.

CJBS2003, You mention in a post here that it can be VERY hard to keep a forage species around for long in a pond with very steep banks. Unfortunately for me that is what I've got. I've probably got 80% of my shoreline with banks of 2.5:1 or steeper. Vegetation only grows out from shore about 10 feet for most of the pond. I siphoned this winter for a full renovation. I just ordered a box of GS from Anderson's and will also add FHM and BG this spring and LMB either fall 2009 or spring 2010. I'm hoping to grow some big bass. Any more detail about steep banks and forage fish would be great. Any suggestions? Is it even going to be possible to keep a healthy forage base in my pond?
Thanks,
Mark

I'm not as versed in these things as CJ, but here's what I'm doing about my steep banks.

I shoveled out shallow "L" shaped coves around the banks. Each leg of the "L" is ~12-18" wide and 6-8" deep. Minnows, baby BG, crawfish, shrimp, tadpoles, insects, and who knows what else shelter in them. I only have 1/2 dozen so far, but they're attracting forage species so well I'm going to make more.

So far my pond depth hasn't varied more than ~10", but if it goes down I will dig some more protective coves further down the slope.

BG should handle the bass pressure with the steep banks. As long as there is some areas for them to spawn which can be a challenge if all you have are steep banks. With some structure and cover for the young to hide, your BG should hold their number simple because they spawn in such huge numbers!

As far as what you can do to help forage fish survive more in your pond, the idea bobad has certainly may work, but I have no experience with it. Providing cover for your forage fish is probably the biggest thing you can do. That and don't try to pack too many hungry mouths into one pond. That will stress your forage fish beyond their ability to keep up through reproduction...

Could I grow out the Anderson GS in my 4' deep by 100' long drainage ditch if I aerate it and feed them, then later in the summer open the dam and let them access the pond?

I don't see why not, that is the method most fish farmers use... They spawn their GSH, collect the fry then introduce them to a grow out pond.

Thanks guys for the information regarding the crayfish for forage. I looked through some of the archives I could find (some were helpful and some were no longer in exestence). Does anybody else have feedback regarding utilizing crayfish for forage?
I did pick up that papershell crayfish would be the best if I was going to use them. I do not have rocks at the bottom of my lake. It is primarily natural sand with a little bit of sediment on top of the sand in most areas. Would the crayfish hide and survive well under the sediment?

Try these links.

http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=25610&fpart=1

http://www.pondboss.com/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=000092

http://www.pondboss.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=6;t=000164#000003

http://aquanic.org/beginer/crawfish/crawfish.htm