Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose What combination of fish should work in this pond?

The pond in question is 5 acres. Tha average depth is 6' and the maximum depth is 8' on one end. The lake is below the dam of a large lake and is fed by a double screened siphon tube over the dam. The pond has an outflow on one end. There will be some movement to the pond water so whether winterkill is an issue or not is for you to say. This pond was used by a local walleye association to raise fry for stocking local lakes. It was completely drained 2 years ago and then refilled. There are no fish in the pond now. The pond is located in mid-Michigan. The owner has asked me to stock his pond. I am looking for 2 programs 1) FREE which would simply be catching fish from another lake and dumping them in the pond...existing natural food sources only. 2) Purchasing specific fishes and perhaps to even buy minnows to establish a forage base. The owner has the money to do just about anything with the pond, but may not be willing to spend anything.
I have had some input from locals who have ponds with fish, but I am getting some conflicting recommendations. If there is anything else about the pond I can tell you, please ask. Thank you very much for any and all input.

To get a good forage base established you will need to spend some money, especially if the pond is 5 acres. I am sure one of the experts will chime in on a good forage base to get you started.

Ichythy, It depends on what kind of a time frame you have. To start a forage base, will take less money if you have lots of time.

Example...last June I stocked 10 lbs of Fathead minnows, and 10 lbs of Goldenshiner minnows intoa pond that's approx. 3/4 of an acre.
I fed occasionally, and didnt see much feeding activity all summer long. Was wondering if I had a failure.

Flash forward to 2 weeks ago. I threw out some 32% floater to see if I could get anything to feed....wow. I think the reason they werent feeding last year is they had their minds on other things. It looks like it's raining there are so many minnows feeding.

I guess the moral to my story is if you stock minnows now, by this time next year you should have alot of minnows established.

Without a clear goal of what is wanted with your pond, and no budget plans,it's difficult to give any real advice on what actions to take.

I suppose all I can say is with just randomly throwing fish in that are caught elswhere, with no concerns to species, it's really hard to say what you will end up with,and those involved will never realize the true potential that the pond can attain.

An unpopulated pond is a blank piece of paper. You can scribble on it, and wind up with something to throw away, or a masterpiece to cherish forever.

Just keep in mind, by haphazardly stocking, and someday you want to start over, the wiping the slate clean is much more expensive than doing it right the first time.

I would guess that a budget of $100- $500 will get you more bang than you think. My minnow stocking cost me approx. $160. But with time and patience, could cost half that.

In my opinion, the best way to decide on a forage base is to decide what you are intending to feed. Bass, Walleye,Hybrid stripers,smallmouth, Yellow Perch,ChannelCat.

I speak from experience, (experience is the abilty to recognize a mistake after you've made one) If I were you, spend some time reading about the pros and cons of the different stocking scenarios.Fathead minnows will be the first to disappear after the predatory fish are stocked, but have never read of any cons from stocking them. So while researching the scenarios, I'd get ahold of some Fatheads, and put them in immediately, so they can be sending love letters in the mean time. I've heard in the right temps, they spawn at least every 28 days. I have also read rumors of more frequently than that.

Enjoy your pond journey! Decisions, decisions... and welcome to Pond Boss!

With only 8 feet of water I would probably drain the pond and make it deeper. Then you can take the time to add structure as well.

Nothing beats starting from scratch and doing it right the first time.

Thanks for the replies. Time is no factor but money is. The pond won't be drained and deepened. It is what it is. I can probably get the owner to foot the bill for fathead minnows. Today I checked on the prices of fish for stocking. I assume the candidates are bluegills (.75@), bass ($1.30@), perch ($1.10@), and catfish (.80@). I could catch SOME of those fishes, but if the guy chooses to buy fish, how many is appropriate for a 5 acre pond? Thanks.

What are your goals for the pond? Bigger bass, bigger panfish, balanced? What state are you in? At 8', you risk winterkill if you are in an area where there is an extended period of time with ice coverage. You could help prevent this if you utilized aeration, even if you don't deepen the pond.

Answering those questions will help get you a better answer...

Ouch! Pricing on those fish are over 100% more than what I pay here in NE from multiple sources - just an FYI. Guess the further North you go fewer options exist.

Decide what species you want, and be aware that it's likely any species present in the large lake fishery above this pond can find their way into the smaller one. That will have an impact on the decisions you make regarding the new fishery to establish. For instance, if you wanted to establish a SMB fishery, but LMB are present in the lake above, it may be wise to reconsider.

Tell us the species that interest you, and your goals as Travis requested, and we'll help guide your stocking plans. If you have time, I think we could manage to stock a 5 acre pond even on a very limited budget. Bear in mind you'll be counting on spawns to fill the qty void the limited budget caused, but it certainly can be done with some adult fish and time.

You mentioned in your first post that the pond is in michigan and it was fed from the outflow of a large lake.
Before you put any fish in I would put in some traps and see what has found it's way in there from the large lake above it, even though the outflow is screened that's no guarantee.

Ditto. If the screen is large enough so it doesn't get clogged with leaves and trash, then smaller fish can make it thru the screen.

What species of fish are in the larger lake?

I just talked to the owner of the pond. It has been filled just one year. The incoming siphon is an 8" tube that for several months had NO SCREEN on it, so some fish may already have been siphoned into the pond. Now there is a screen on that tube. The lake above the dam has bluegills, crappies, perch, largemouth bass, pike, and bullheads.
The owner really has no goal other than to have "some fish" in the pond so that Cub Scouts, church groups, or invited friends and family will have something to catch. He has no desire to spend money on buying fish, feeding, or aeration.
From that I gather that all he wants me and my grandkids to do it catch "some fish" elsewhere and dump them into the pond.
I realize some of the problems with doing that, but I don't own the pond.
My own preference is to have perch, bluegills, and largemouth bass in the pond. Is this a working combination or should I opt for another mix? Thank you very much for helping me out.

If you're just catching fish to stock the pond with, I'd shoot for 10-12 LMB in the 8"-12" range and 50-75 4"+ BG per acre. Stocking adult fish of those species, size and numbers should get you off to a good start. If you can stock the sunfish a bit earlier, enough to allow them to spawn once before the bass all the better. Otherwise, the bass will be very hungry until the sunfish reproduce. Stocking perch is fine, adding 50 or so adults should get you going.

I'd avoid crappies, bullheads and others but from what the owner's trying to accomplish, it really doesn't matter. Having a bass heavy pond is usually the best option for high pressure fishing for church groups and cub scouts type angling. You creates many 8"-12" hungry bass and decent numbers of quality sized panfish. So management wise, leave the bass in the pond don't remove any unless they get over 14", then remove those fish. Other species can be harvested for the table.