Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose how many fish to stock??

I have an old pond that hasn't had fish in it for over 30 years, it is about 1/4 acre in Illinois and I would like to get it going again. I have kind of already settled on LMB BG CC and maybe some RES but I have no idea how many of each to add to make it balanced?

Andrew:

If it hasn't had fish in it for 18 years, why? How deep is the pond? Is there a lot of weeds in it during the summer? Algae? Duckweed? Watermeal?

Weclome to PBF Andrew

I will let the pros give advice for stocking and numbers.

However, I will ask, are you absolutely certain that it does not have any fish or small forage fish in it? It is rare that water stays void of life on its own. This is important to know, so the right steps can be taken for a successful plan. If you can't determine this for some reason, or don't want to mess around analyzing it yourself, it might be best to lower the water level and kill off what "might" be in there, especially if you have a very specific stocking goal in mind.

The pond is on my grandmas property and she hasn't done anything with it since my grandpa died. I have always liked fishing but up until now have never thought about getting her pond going. In the summer it gets a lot of moss on top, I don't know what kind. It is about 8 feet deep in the center, and im not certain there are no other fish in it. There is never any movement except for turtles and frogs etc. I have just always assumed it was empty from what my grandma has told me.

Sounds like it's time to go visit grandma, and of course a little bit o' fishin' on the side Never assume... you may have a nice fishing spot ready to go and didn't know it.

Bring a camera and take lots of pics, and one of grandma too make her feel good!

Probably an algae of some kind, not moss.

I will take some pictures soon, how can I tell if there are fish in the pond without draining it?

FISH IT!!!!!!!!!!!! with all different ways and approaches. You should also set a minnow trap with bread in it, check it in a half hour to 2 hours.

Go fisnin'

Can't argue with that! I will try the minnow trap, I've done that in the creek before so I know how to make one. If there are fish in it how would I go about stocking it?

To many variables to answer that. Need to know what type of fish and sizes. Every pond stocking is very custom, especially if other fish are present.

You could start by reading old posts, and see what others have been thru. You'll pick up valuable knowledge, and start to see why there are so many "it depends".

Okay thanks! I will figure out if there are fish in it! When could I start stocking it though? What is the best time to do it?

Stocking depends on your goals. Fish stocked should be large enough to avoid predation by other fish in the pond (unless you're stocking FHM). Now 'till the heat of summer is a good time to stock. Then after summers heat is gone 'till 40°F ish water temps.

Well I just went to my grandmas to set the minnow trap and fish alittle, I took my camera but the batteries died:( I will get pictures soon. There was no signs of fish at all, no bites and nothing in the trap. I don't think it has any fish in it

With the cold front that came thru the fish have really slowed down feeding. Wait 'till the temps warm back up and are stable for a few days.

Alright thanks! If its completely empty what do you think it will cost to get the right amount of CC BG and LMB?

That'll depend on the size of fish that you want to stock, and the price of the fish in your neck of the woods.

Well do you know about how many I need?

Maybe.........

First off, you have to find out why there are no fish in the pond. Were there fish and they died off? Why did they die?

How deep is the pond? Will fish survive the winter? You say 8' deep. Is that something that you measured yourself or are you going on what you were told? I am told more times than not that a pond is deeper than it actually is. Most recently I was told a pond was 12' deep over "there" and 6' deep over "there". It turned out to be 7' deep and 3' deep.

If the pond is 8' deep, you don't have aeration, and you are in an area that will see ice and snow cover for a few months of the year, I doubt that the fish will all make it thru the winter due to a winterkill.

No pond stays "balanced" for long. It's up to you or a pond manager to keep the pond in balance. With a pond that has BG and LMB, the LMB will, over time, over populate the pond and stunt, leading to the LMB to average 12"-14" max.

Is the pond aerated and will you be feeding? If so, then the pond will hold more fish per acre than a pond that is not.

For a "balanced" pond, providing you don't have any fish in the pond, I would stock 4# of FHM and and 2# of GSH this Spring (i.e. now) and let them reproduce this summer. This Fall I'd stock 20 LMB 3"-5", 400-600 BG 3"-4" , ane 100-150 RES 3"-5", . Next Spring I'd stock 25 7"-10" CC if you absolutely had to have CC in the pond.

Now, if you find out that you have fish in the pond, take that stocking plan and throw it out the window.

I'd look hard at the pond and determine if it had cover for the fish to hide in. If not, I'd make sure that they had 20% of the surface area of the pond in cover, divided up between shallow water and deep water (for winter cover).

To add a few extra thoughts to Esshups. If I am off base in my line of thinking, correct me.

If you put the FHM in now, add structure around the pond for them to spawn on. Pallets around the edge weighted down in shallow water. By fall, you should have lots of them in there. If not, its a sign of trouble-- bad water that needs correcting, or more likely there is predators in there eating all of them. It would then be a waste of money to proceed any further without knowing why the FHM didn't survive.

If you get FHM, get them from a VERY reputable dealer, and learn how to identify them properly. Check them all. You don't want any hitch hikers that will cost you more money and problems later.

+1 on what fish n chips said. Where in Illinois are you?

Quincy Illinois, it's right along the Mississippi River by Hannibal Missouri. Thanks for all the information guys

For a reliable, knowledgeable pond management/fish guy, get in touch with Nate Herman http://www.hbpondmanagement.com/

Thanks for all the help guys!

I live at about the same latitude as you, Andrew18. I live out west in Eastern Washington (not the rainy side of the Cascades). My pond is considerably smaller at about 900 sq.ft. and depth is average about 5' with the deepest at 7.5'. Sides are steep. I use an electric air pump/stone system and operate it at night during the warmer months to keep the water temp as low as possible.

For the past two years I've stocked with 150 4" rainbow in early September (still warm days). I feed them Aquamax 500 twice a day all winter long with an automatic game feeder (straight-line shooter) I end up with 14" to 15" fish by this time each of the two years. By the time they quit biting in late June they're three to three-and-a-half pounds. Last summer I didn't winter them over and cleaned out the pond as it was inundated with out-of-control curly-leaf pond weed. Numbers were: 150 planted; 45 line-caught; 63 left to harvest when the pond was drained (108 total). The osprey got about 40. Cost was for the 4" fingerlings was $100 and food was $40/50# bag. I went through about 6 bags in seven months. I picked them up 100 miles away and did not have any shipping costs. Total fish cost per year was roughly $340 plus the $70 solar-charged feeder (I made the feeder "house"). Cost per pound ended up about $1.60 per pound for solid, healthy protein that tasted sweet (not muddy-tasting or otherwise tainted). I smoked most of them in my garbage can smoker and vacuum-packed and froze those I didn't eat or give away when cooked.

This year I plan to winter over those I don't catch and will see what happens. The cost per pound will likely decrease as they get bigger and will likely offset the cost of the additional feed.

If you like trout insted of the warmer fish, I think you're in a good spot to take advantage. I'm pretty sure you get more meat per fish with trout and, IMHO, they're as fun to catch as LMB.

Something to think about. Good Luck

I don't eat the fish so taste isn't really a concern of mine but thank you, does the algae on top of the water affect the health of the fish?