Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations stocking a "new" pond

WE HAVE A 1AC POND,1/3 IS 10' DEEP AND 2/3 ABOUT 2-5' DEEP. IT WAS DRIED UP AT ONE POINT. IT IS NOW FULL. I HAVE ACCESS TO 20-100 3/4LB LMB. AND 100+ MATURE CNB. I'LL HAVE TO BUY MY MINNOWS.

HOW SHOULD I PROCEED? THANKS (THE POND IS IN GRAHAM, TX.)

Stock the CNBG. Hold off until next year on the LMB. I would only stock about 40 or 50 LMB Maximum.

Here's the deal. The water is getting kinda warm for fish stocking. If you do it, get it done early in the morning while the water is cool. Regarding the minnows, the only place you can usually get them around here is a fish truck. They will come out of cold water and will need to be seriously acclimated before you put them in the pond water. I might just stock the CNBG and let them spawn. Maybe just forget the minnows.

To quote a famous PBer...It depends.

If you want to put in the LMB and take the pressure off of the BG - you can get some forage brought in.

I have had good success with goldfish stocked as forage on HOT days...you almost can't kill a goldfish if you try...I have also been successful with getting shiners in and losing less than 5%...like DD said, don't skimp on the acclimation and bring them up slowly. Shiners are a little more delicate but they never get too big to be forage...goldfish will grow quickly and if you put in more than your bass can eat, they will get big and take up available space in your pond.

Also, if those are 12oz LMB and you have 100+ mature large bluegill (I'm assuming these are at least 8oz - but I'm guessing from your post they may even be larger) then you will not have to worry about predation on these brood fish for quite some time...so really, you just want to take pressure off the spawn for a while.

DD's answer is certainly right on point if you want to try to get things in balance for your pond...let the BG get established first then bring in the bass...but if you want to give mother nature a helping hand and take care of the LMB with supplemental forage you could get it done...you're just living closer to the edge...and it costs more money.

Also, if you have 100 bass, you could put ‘em all in a 1 acre pond if you plan to feed them...heck at 3/4 pound, they are fun on an ultralight now....Even if you didn’t want all 100 as your base, you could just put all 100 in and then take some back out while enjoying your pond much sooner (like the day after you stock it if you choose). Catching out 25-50 LMB will be cake...especially if these have never been on the business end of a hook before. Even if you wanted to leave them, you could carry that many bass in your 1 acre pond if you feed them.

Also, if you put these larger fish in, it will be very easy to identify their offspring if you catch them early...you could cull 100% of the offspring you catch and leave your stockers to grow out...enough will slip through to offset your mortality rates.

Again, this advice is based on my own experiences and is just my 2 cents...you can push the limits if you are willing to do your part to help mother nature along.

Oh yeah, if you put in those Bass - add some tilapia next spring...that is my 1 piece of advice to anyone with LMB to feed. IMO, dollar for dollar, there is not a single better use of your aquaculture budget.

Also, be sure to put in some pellet feed for your forage fish...it will increase their production significantly and your money goes further pushing pellets to forage than it does trucking in forage from the farm.

Best of luck.

Adding 12 oz LMB to a new pond will mean they will need lots of forage fish to stay healthy and in good condition. Bass this size do not subsist on plankton and invertebrates. Each of these 12 oz bass over the course of the rest of this year until they spawn next Mar-Apr (TX) should have at least 1.5-2.5 lbs of forage fish per bass. If you expect the bass to grow then they should have 3-4 lbs of forage fish available. You might want to reconsider how many 12 oz bass to stock and when to stock them.

Just thinking here. This is a fairly shallow pond at Graham that has dried up once. It is also about 100 miles from home in Hurst. Active management is gonna be tough. That one acre pond could easily become 1/2 acre by the end of August in most years. We've been loaded with rain this year but those rains have broken an eight year drought. I'm not real optimistic about future rain to keep it full. Also, a lot of the Graham area has some perenially muddy water holes.

Graham55, I sent you a pm with my cell phone number. Give me a call if you want to discuss.

Thanks everybody. Ya'll have given me plenty to think about. The great thing about this forum is the people are not just readers, they love to give you the benefit of their experience. I really appreciate it. Thanks again

Amen to that! I hate to think of what I'd have done without this site and all the great people.