Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Stocking new pond

Pond renovation has been completed and I am back to restocking my 1.25 acre pond..max depth around 12 feet...I will be using aeration and supplementing feed from a feed station..Looking for good numbers of mid range bass and some channel cats to eat..Last time I stock 600 CNBG, 50 hybrid cats, 200 redear, 10lbs of fh, and 1000 golden shiner..then 4mos later stocked 50 lmb...when I drained the pond there was only 10 bass left..the hybrid cats were up to 3lbs in 6mos..I will forgo the hybrid cats due to concerns of predation on bass/forage fish..also mixed feelings about gshiners...considering 600cnbg, 200redear, 10lbs fhm and 100 cc now...then next spring stock 100 lmb..any suggestions?? could I increase stocking numbers due to feeding and aeration? Wonder if I could stock more cc since I'm feeding and not worry about effects of predation on the forage base?

Probably, but why tie up the biomass ahead of time when they're cheap to restock in large size?

Realistically, how many would you like to eat over the next 2 years?

Not sure about how many I would take..but have family that might come and fish and keep some..Guessing I would say maybe 30-40 a year would be taken out to eat...I figured with aeration I could increase my biomass therefore increasing fishing opportunities..

100 CC now and 100 next year should be more than enough to eat as many as you project and have many left for fishing.

A number of us have found that underutilized CC get big enough to cause problems with torn lines, feed consumption, even holed banks (and, yes, possibly water quality). So I recommend restraint wrt CC stocking numbers.

Thanks for info..what about the other numbers of fish? Do you have any suggestions? Whats everyone's opinion on golden shiners at initial stocking?

What is your emphasis, big bass or big bream? Stocking #s look good either way; might add more bass for big bream, add more bream for big bass.

I think GSH are fantastic startup forage for a big bass pond, but would not put them in if you are going to manage for big bream or try to balance the two.

My emphasis is on bass..but more numbers of bass..an occasional big one..I have read that gsh will reduce the number of cnbg due to there robbing eggs off the nests....I also plan on some catfish to eat as already noted..Should I wait a few months after I get the cnbg started to add the gsh? Suggestions on the timing of stocking also appreciated...

GSH only spawn once a year; if you don't give them a warm season hard start before adding bass, I don't think they'd be a big advantage. Almost all fish eat fish eggs, including CNBG eating CNBG eggs. Don't worry about the competition; it happens.

If you are thinking smaller fingerling sizes for the CNBG/RES (like 2" - 4") and LMB (3" or so), and CC any size up to 10" or so, I would be comfortable with those numbers and that schedule. You could add 10 lbs of GSH to the "now" stocking as well.

So it would be okay to stock catfish up to 10" with the initial stocking? What is the negative impact of gsh when stocked with the plan I have set up?

Short term, you'll have (probably) slightly fewer BG. But the Shiners are easier for smaller bass to eat (longer for their width/heigth), so the LMB should target prey in this order (with these results): 1) FHM (wiped out 1-2 years after LMB introduction), 2) GSH (probably last 2-4 years), then 3) CNBG (breed to much too be eliminated).

The biggest negative is you have to pay for the Shiners.

IME CC 10" or less will take long enough to reach "effective predator" size, even growing on pellets, that your initial stockers from the other species (espeically CNBG, RES, and LMB) should not suffer. If you stocked big enough CC, this might not be the case.

Thanks so much for the information..One other question is this..If I decided to stock larger bass, say 10-14 inches in the spring..How many would you suggest I put in and what are the disadvantages to doing that?

#1 rule is ensure stocked fish have sufficient food, of the right size, to eat.

#2 rule is ensure nothing eats your original stockers.

With those rules in mind, LMB prefer to eat BG 1/3 to 1/4 their own length. We have not much discussed a preferred length for GSH consumption by LMB, but I suspect it runs 1/3 to 1/2 the bass' length. So 10"-14" LMB would be looking to eat BG 3"-5" long, and GSH 5"-7" long.

I would guess most CNBG small stockers would be past that prime danger zone if given a year's head start, and adult GSH should be large enough not to be really easy meals as well. So you should stand a fairly good chance of enforcing Rule #2 wrt the original CNBG and GSH stockers.

OTOH, what the 10"-14" LMB would have to eat would be FHM, GSH up to 1 year old, and (small) CNBG offspring from the previous year IF the CNBG stockers get big enough to spawn during their first year. So the questions must be asked (and would be best answered by a more Southern PM with CNBG growth experience), "How large must CNBG stockers be to get off a spawn in their first year, and how big would their offspring be when the bass are stocked the following Spring?"

I think there would be at least a strong possibility that larger LMB stockers might violate Rule #1. If this occurred, their growth would be sub-optimum, due to increased energy being expended while they catch smaller than desirable meals. The problem could probably be avoided by increasing GSH stocking either this year or next.

If you went with larger LMB stockers, you could probably reduce their numbers somewhat, since you would be by-passing the mortality they would experience while growing. I might cut bass numbers down to 75 in this case.

I stocked 3-4" CNBG last spring and fed heavy...by 0ctober there were a good number of the 6-7" size..The gsh were 5-6" as well..
I was considering putting about 40 of the 10-14 inch bass...I guess I could wait and do a survey of fish size next spring and then stock accordingly..

Thanks for the information..I will definitely consider that option..As far as biomass for a 1.25 acre pond with aeration..what is your opinion on what I could support in my pond..