Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Existing Pond, bunch of questions: HSB

Hello,

Been lurking for awhile, great site and resource.
I have the chance to stock a 400x250 ft existing pond. Not sure on the depth but it looks to drop right off the bank pretty sharply in places, I'd guess 10-15 ft at the deepest?
The last time I fished the pond ( Sept. ) I caught zero fish. 3-4 years ago it was loaded with small LMB, 4-8 inches, could catch one on virtually every cast. No sign of blue gill , catfish, at that time. The pond has very little if any fishing pressure.

My questions
I have been reading about HSB and think this could be a decent option for this pond. Keep in mind their would be no water flow or fountain/aerator etc.. I also don't want to stock them if there really are just bigger fish and the HSB would end up being expensive forage. The other issue is the pellet feeding, there would be no automatic feeder but I could hand feed 4-5 days a week but would miss days...would that be a problem?
Is there a way to test the water as I am somewhat nervous about what happened to all the bass that used to inhabit this pond? I would want to know the hybrids have a chance at surviving.

I know one should have a goal in mind when stocking, main goal would to raise some nice size hybrids...but if not possible , should I stock something easier to maintain?


That is all for now, but I am sure will be posting more questions as people respond. Thanks

Consider having it (inventoried) shocked.Or sample seine it (see Bob Lusks latest video on this) on PB homepage under "News and Events" You might be surprised what is there.

Welcome to Pond Boss! Like Ted said, invest in some of resources here...books, videos, the magazine.

A few questions:

Can you post some pictures of the pond?

What's the water source? I ask because draining the pond down or to empty could be something to consider if it can be easily refilled. Then you could start a stocking program with only the fish you want.

If you caught those size LMB in Sept. '11, they are still there. You can get larger HSB, 10"+, and still have good survival. If you have a few advanced sized LMB in the pond now, you could lose some HSB stockers, but those larger LMB might eat on the smaller LMB more easily then a HSB.

HSB can grow great on pellet feed, and 4-5 times a week will see results, IMHO.

The quick drop off to deeper water is not a problem for HSB. They like open water, although I've also found they'll pretty much hang out wherever if a pond had different structure and depth scenes.

I'm sure more will chime in.

As Sunil said, the LMB are still there. First thing I would do would get a better grip on who is calling the pond home. Keep fishing. As often as possible and using as many methods as possible. Document your findings. Post those here for a more clear plan. I wouldn't want to invest money into a pond before knowing as much as possible about it first.

I agree with Sunil that feeding even "only" 4-5 times a week will be beneficial to your HSB's growth rates. I would consider focusing on one location to feed and try to feed at or near the same times of day when you visit. Get them used to it and they'll come to expect it.

Welcome to Pond Boss KB! You have certainly found the right place for your questions.

Just to clarify the lmb I had caught were 3-4yrs ago. They were small and this past sept when I fished saw nothing in the water and no bites. My. Plan is to try observe and fish In early Spring and get a better idea of the pond. If I were to stock 20-30 HSB would that be enough to get them to school and hit the pellets if I established a pretty regular feed schedule or is the pond too big for that thinking? Would I need to stock more than that? Thanks for the advice so far, appreciate it. I think there's a way to donate to the site and that is my plan as well. I consider it a payment to the pond dr. Lol

HSB will school with two fish, generally speaking.

You should be able to get the HSB to hitting feed if you are consistent with where you feed, like Omaha said.

Luckily, these days, you can get advanced sized HSB, over 10" and many times over 14" for stocking.

At those sizes, any predation threat on the HSB is greatly minimized.

You can raise large HSB on pellets alone, but it's nice to also have other forage for them.

Here's one from my pond (that a buddy caught):

This was the orignal size of the HSB stocker:

Just a thought. Do you know how deep the pond is? Could there be a possibility of it having a severe winterkill last year and all the larger, catchable fish have perished?

Reason for asking, a client and their neighbor said their pond was 12' deep at one end, and 6' deep in front of their houses. When a depth survey was completed, the deepest part in the pond was 7', with the water only being 3' to 4' deep in the center of the pond in front of their houses.

Nice fish Sunil, I would be happy catching the original stockers

Esshup I do find it strange that a pond just years ago had tons of small lmb and now can't find any. Is there a way by looking to determine the health of the pond? Also I don't have access to take a boat and determine depth. There are some steeper slopes going directly into the pond and given the size I estimated at least 10 ft in middle but never know. Could I sample the water and take to a hatchery to test?

How well do HSBC handle being caught? If I stocked some 10in fish would they last awhile even while being caught occasionally ? Would I even be able to catch them if I only stocked 30 in this pond?

Take a slip bobber and a weight that will sink the slip bobber. Keep casting the slip bobber to the same spot, moving the knot further and further up. When the bobber floats, measure the distance from the weight to the stop knot.

Makes sense Esshup..thanks
What would be the smallest size HSB given I'm not sure what if any fish are in the pond, should I go with 8-10 inch ? Also, given the size of the pond 2.5 acres is it going to be hard to get them on the pellet feeding if I only stock 20-30 of them? I'll try to feed at the same time each day, but like I said it will probably only be 4-5 times a week.

Probably get them from Jones fish farm, their prices seem a bit high for the HSB but they are the most convient for me.

KBWSA....what part of Ohio? There are a few excellent sources for advanced size HSB that I know of...Also, I get to Ohio in the spring and fall.