Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Corrective stocking Adding LMB and Rainbow Trout to existing pond

I've recently acquired a .75 acre pond in Wisconsin, approx 10 years old, run off/well water source.

The pond is currently teeming, and I mean teeming, with a huge quantity of stunted bluegill - mainly 2"-3" with a few 5"-6" specimens in there. There are a small quantity of small bullheads.

My goal is to have a nice sport fishing pond with LMB, nice sized adult bluegill and if possible some rainbow trout.

I would like to add some LMB and have access to a stock of 6" to 8" fish. How many LMB of this size should I add to get me headed towards a healthy pond balance?

Also, the pond goes down to 25 feet in places so should be able to support some rainbow trout. Anyone see a problem with this and if so how many 12" fish would you add?

Thanks for any help!

Welcome to the forum...

Any idea why the pond seems to only have stunted bluegill(BG) and bullheads and nothing else? Are you sure they are in fact BG and not another sunfish species like green sunfish(GSF)? GSF and bullheads are very winter kill tolerant so that is my concern. The fact that the pond is 25 feet deep should help lessen the risk of winter kill, but it won't guarantee it. Are you sure the pond is actually 25 feet deep? I would not trust what others have told you, as I have found they almost always over estimate the depth...

If you are not sure how to ID BG and GSF, take a photo of a half dozen or so fish and post the photos on here. If you are not sure how to post pics, check the archives section and there is a nice post on how there. Speaking of the archives, check out the information there are growing large BG. There is lots of great information there... Are you mostly concerned about your BG in the pond, with less emphasis on the LMB? If so, you want to stock around 75 LMB in the 6"-8" size range. If you are more looking for a balance between the two species I would recommend around 25. It will take a while to control the BG and it may be an almost impossible endeavor. Northern ponds where BG have gotten out of control can be very difficult to get back into balance.

The simple fact that your pond may go to 25 feet deep doesn't mean it will hold trout year round. Unless aerated, much below 10 feet or so will be void of dissolved oxygen and will be dead to fish life. If you aerate, the pond will be more oxygenated but will likely become too warm for trout to survive. If you had a large spring feeding your pond, then there is more of a likelihood rainbows could survive. The same would hold true with well water, however that would require a very large amount of well water to be pumped. There is always the option of seasonal trout stocking which is what many members on here do. You stock the rainbows in the fall when water temps reach the 60's. You enjoy them through the winter and then fish them out by late spring before the temps get too high for them. If you do stock some rainbows, I'd go with as many as 75 for a spring stocking or 150 for a fall stocking. The more you stock, the more you'll need to be eating rainbow trout for dinner.

This late May or early June, try to do a seine survey... Purchase a 50'x4' seine and locate an area of your pond where the slope is a little more gradual and there is little obstruction. Run the seine there and see what you catch. Utilizing this data can really tell you a lot about the balance of you pond... The placing of simple minnow traps can also tell you some.

Good luck!

gbwez welcome to pond boss, CJ covered about everything, but if you plan on running that well to help keep summer temps down for the trout try aerating the well water by running it over a cascade of rocks before entering the pond.
If your flow is sufficient you might be able to hold trout year round, it's worth a shot but keep the numbers low in the beginning and put a thermometer with probe in and keep a record of summer temps at different depths.
Good Luck.

Another thing to keep in mind is if you run a well for the temps to be optimum for trout growth they won't be for bass growth and vice versa.

Thank you VERY mcuh for these replies which are really helpful.

I don't have any photos of my Bluegills but am pretty sure they are BG not GSF.

I'm looking for a balance of BG and LMB so I think I'll start with the 25 LMB recommended.

Thanks for the advice over rainbows.

I've taken depth soundings and about 75% of the pond area bottoms out at 12 feet but the other 25% bottoms out at 25 feet (this area was dug out deeper to provide fill for a building project).

I pump water from the well into the pond. In summertime I have the pump running about 30% of the time to keep the pond topped-up approx 6 gallons per minute. The well water travels down a long PVC pipe into the area of 25 foot depth, and exits underwater. This creates a pleasing amount of bubbles which (I am hoping) has an aeration effect.

I may wait until the fall to stock the rainbows... am in no big hurry.

I would be careful putting bass into your pond, eventually they could take over your pond. Large Rainbow trout would eat some of those bluegills.

With your pond being 25 feet deep and by having a well running you should have no problem stocking Rainbow Trout, even in the summer months. Is 6 gallons a minute the max your well will put out?

The LMB could, if the pond wasn't managed and left to it's own devices. But, if he removes some of the LMB for the table every year, he should be O.K.

I'm a fan of stocking trout in cooler waters. Especially when you can ice fish the water. I think the trout bite better than any other fish during the winter!