Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose what size

I added 100 f1 bass to our new pond 9 weeks ago,they were only 2 inches long when we added them.What do you think the size of the fish would be now????

Pat,
I couldn't begin to give an answer but you could help the ones that could by giving more info.
How big is your pond?
Do you feed?
Is your pond fertile? Infertile?
What other fish are in the pond in what numbers?
Where is your pond located? What part of the country.
Any other pertinent info you can think of would help.

Pat, you're going to find out one way or the other, the key to pond management is patience. Give the little guys a chance, some of your 2" fish could be around the same size from relocation stress, the hearty ones may have doubled in size. If they have plenty to eat, you can estimate roughly 2% gain in weight per day in a new pond.

this pond is 1 acre in size,water is in great shape.i will connect this pond to a 4 year old 5 1/2 acre lake within the next month are so.i dug a new 1 acre pond and stocked with bream and minnows knowing we were going to tie the two together very soon.i was hoping the fish would be big enough to survive once they were tied together.i just had s.e. pond shock the larger lake this past week and saw 7 1/2 lb. bass in the large pond.i know some of the small bass will not make it but was hoping if they got too 4-5 inches maybe some would survive.thanks pat

My thoughts. It is my observation that fish in a new environment tend to explore their new home. If they get near a larger predator, they've had it. Their confusion and easy to swallow, bullet shaped body make them choice forage.

Some always make it but all never do.

With three to four pound plus bass present it would be much better survival of the F1 bass if theyr were 10"-12" long before getting exposure to the big bass. Expect 10%-25% survival of the F1's if they are 4"-5" long and are exposed to an adult bass population.

Thanks for writing back,I was really looking for % number you gave me.The way i was looking at it was 10% was better than not putting any fish at all in new section.

Pat :

In most pond mgt. matters there are several ways to manage your goals . There are a lot of good pond mgrs. on this fourm to help with a question or goal. In order to help and give possible suggestions they need to know the goal and facts and then they often go beyond the question with things not considered. Bob Lusk often asks it by saying " why do you want to do that?" , that is what is the goal or reason behind the proposed action.

There are a number of reasons to add F1's or Fla's. or Nort. strain bass depending on goals or reasons. For example to get Fla. {or other strain} genetics in the pond . There are several ways to do this which fourm members can suggest if they know that is the goal.

Bill covered the % question. You can help the % by placing enough cover for the F1's to hide in. There are other ways to manage the situation if that is the goal , like multi-year stocking or stocking larger fish at low rates. Keep your pond balance in mind when setting goals. Example you may want 15 new F1's , if so you are on tract but if the survival rate were 50% then you have 50 and that could cause an imbalance down the road. I know you did not ask about all this . I thougt it might help. ewest

ps : It looks like you are increasing your pond size by 20% how will the fish in the new part effect the overall fish structure once connected based on what S.E. pond Mgt. saw in electrofishing the old part.

ewest,thanks for writing.I only gave part of the story due to i was trying to learn the growth rates of bass at this age and survival rates.But to answer the above question when i designed my lake it was layed out to be 11 acres,due to $$$ i have been adding on to it as i get the money.my pond started out at 41/2 acres and now is up to 6 1/2 acres.In the past i would add on to it and not add fish to new section,just remove the dam and let the fish grow into the new area.This is the first time i've added fish before removing the dam.I did however add minnows,coppernose and bass to this section.My goals are to to be able to go out and catch 10-15 bass evertime i go fishing and maybe catch a 5-7 lb. bass every once in a while.I hope this is possible,S.E.pond management said everything looked great in the larger pond when they shocked it last week.They saw plenty of bass of all sizes and a boat load of bream of all sizes.I thought for sure they would say i had to many bream but he said it looked good.I should be getting a 17 page report from them within the next 7-10 days telling me results of everything.Again thanks for writing back.

Pat :

That is great news about your pond's status. S.E. will do a good job for you. Did you tell them that you are adding the new part so they can include that effect in your report. I would sure do that because you want to know about the combined lakes. One thing to keep in mind is that as the lake gets larger it gets harder for one man to keep it in balance because of the number of bass that you have to take out. For example if the report says take out 10 lbs. of bass per acre each year then you have more fish to take out as the lake gets larger. You can with managment meet the goals you set out. You have described what a balanced bass/BG pond will give you. The trick is to keep it in balance. That requires taking out bass. Good luck and if you want after you get the report post the results and see what others say about the results.

It is important for you to keep notes of what happens with your pond . Those notes are important for mgt. purposes. You will know more about the pond than anyone else and that info can help a pro pond mgr. , like S.E. , do the best job for you. ewest

Pat, this sounds like a great project! Here are a couple of thoughts. First, take lots of pictures of the parts of the lake that don't have water. You'll forget exactly where things are otherwise. Also, you can draw a map of the depts and contours of your lake easily at this stage.

Next, you can make bottom structure at this stage easily. I personally like ridge and channel type of cover. We also have a shallow flat surrounded by deep water. When you break these small dams open to connect them to the main lake, rather than one cut in the middle, you might make a cut at each end leaving an island or underwater ridge.

If you open the small dams at the ends, you might be able to wait before you have to connect the small lake to the main lake. That will give your fish time to get bigger and thus have a better chance of survival.

Are there any other species such as red-ear sunfish in your lake?

From my perspective, having a lake fill slowly like yours is a great advantage. We started our lake in 2000 and just finished it this year. Along this time, I was able to incorporate many ideas from this forum into the new parts of the lake.

Pat,

When I started building ponds several years ago, I had the very same goals as you have. I also targeted a 6 acre pond but had to settle for a 3 acre pond due to $$$. It is now 3.5 acres and will be up to 4 acres this fall.

I found that my objectives were not supportable with the current "tried and true" Florida bass and BG combination. There are many reasons why my objectives can not be met with that standard method. One of them that does not often get discussed on here is fishing pressure.

If you only fish once or twice a year, you can meet your objectives with the "tried and true". If you fish maybe three or four times a year, you can still get very close to your objectives.

When you fish your pond, as I do, every week (and sometimes more than that with poachers present), I do not believe you can or will achieve your objectives with that standard approach. If you lie somewhere in between those "extremes" of fishing pressure, then I would expect your catch rates to vary proportionally.

For example in my 3.5 acre pond, which receives weekly fishing pressure, a minimum of two angler hours is required to catch a LMB (Florida strain, artificially fed).

On the other hand, a 3/4 pond with no management, other than annual stocking of Tilapa and only fished twice a year provides about 12-14 LMB per angler hour (with the very real opportunity to catch 5 to 7 pound bass).

I am convinced that in order to achieve my objectives, which have not really changed over the years, the "tried and true" has to be altered.
Many alterations have been discussed here.

One alteration, which maybe hasn't been really discussed is the idea that two 3 acre ponds are far superior (in terms of meeting our objectives) to one 6 acre pond. Likewise, three 5 acre ponds, are likely to be far superior to one 15 acre pond measured against the objectives of 10 to 15 bass caught in a couple of hours each visit with good chances at 5 to 8 pound bass.

Many folks will say they can catch 20 bass 3 to 4 pounds in their ponds with ease. That can indeed happen once or twice a year. On a more frequent basis, I doubt it can happen. In fact, will say it simply does not happen based on my experience.

More ponds give us the flexibility to manage fishing pressure, make use of genetics to add quality and prevent stagnation, as well as have a variety of different fish.

I was considering building a 15 acre pond on property I am in the process of acquiring. Now, I have just about convinced myself to build several smaller ponds in a chain like fashion..one feeding the other. I believe that will afford me the opportunity to reach my objectives.

Good luck with your journey.

Pat, I think most of your answers are contained in their report. They do good work and they have seen the pond/s.

ML,
I agree with alot you said. I think some folks have mutiple goals that can not as you mention work on one pond. I love it when a client has a 12 acre pond but also a 3/4 acre and a 2 acre. We can managae for other scenarios in the smaller but in the bigger make it for their "trophy" bass situation.

Ok to my point I strongly disagree with the concept that 3 5 acre ponds are better than a 15 acre pond, IF you want a pond like Pat describes. TO produce mutilpe 15 bass per day rate and occasional (more frequent) 7 lb bass this is much easier on 15 acre body of water. It is simple math you can not produce many 7 lb bass in a small body of water. If simply wanting 15/day then I see your point but the chance of mutiple 7 lb bass becomes more difficult the smaller the pond. I hope you see my point, I look forward to your thoughts.

On another note you mentioend the tried and true. I know what your trying to say and I know you know there is no tried and true. However yes you can get the results you want this way. What you think of as tried and true is what exactly? Supplemental feeding is not t and t it is "new" in GA. ...tell you what I will start another thread right now and post what I think is tried and true and real quick what I recomend for Pat's goals, so take and look and comment. thanks

Greg,

Yes I do see your point and understand it. Not sure that I agree, but do understand it.

All other things being equal (and of course that is never the case), three 5 acre ponds should hold as many total bass greater than 7 pounds as one 15 acre pond. It is debatable whether my chances at catching an over 7 pound bass is greater in the 15 acre pond or in fishing the three 5 acre ponds in the same fishing session.

What I am more sure of is that catching reliable solid numbers of LMB (10 to 15 per session) is a much higher probability in ponds that have not been regularly fished. Using three 5 acre ponds, two can be rested, while one is fished. You can't get that on one 15 acre pond...perhaps you could approximate the same thing by only fishing portions of the 15 acre site and resting other portions, but I don't believe that to be the case.

I know with certainty, at least as certain as fishing ever gets, that I could go to my 3/4 acre pond tomorrow evening and catch a minimum of 10 bass, one of which has a very reasonable chance of exceeding 5 pounds. I can't help but believe that expanding that idea to three 5 acre ponds, the idea of less fishing pressure on any individual pond, will only enhance what I see today in that 3/4 acre unmanaged pond.

well folks i know i was going to connect the new 1 acre pond to the larger pond in about 1 month but i decided to start today.contractor came after lunch and got about 65% of levee pulled out.he will finish this project in the morning.just for the record,so far he has removed approx.965 yards of dirt.I decided since 2 1/2 month old fish did not stand much of a chance of making it why not go ahead and pull it out now.but i still believe as bill cody said 10% is better than not adding any fish at all to the new pond.s.e. pond sent e-mail today saying my 16 page report will be put in the mail no later than thursday of this week.really can't wait to read this report.If possible i will post report if someone can tell me how.Back to removing the levee we did cut it down to were there would be about 4'of water on top dropping off to 7'.This should make for another nice ridge,we are also adding stick up's on top of this new ridge.

ML- ok you have a reasonable chance to catch a 5 lb bassin your 3/4 acre pond? Come on what is reasonable 10% likelyhood? If so on every 10th trip or 10th fishing hour you catch one? Explain what you mean by reasonable please.

I'm guessing here but fill me in i you handle on this example of your 3/4 ac pond.
I would think the carrying capacity of bass in the pond is 50-100 lbs of bass? If so and you have several little guys ( in order to catch 10 per outing) then this leaves maybe half the weight. SO even if you have 50 lbs and this is rare you can only have 8 over 5 (with some 6-7 lb bass).

This is my point about 1-15 acre pond. If you only have 8 big bass ( and that is impresvvie in 3/4 acre pond) what is chance of catching one?

So with the crude math above I hope folks can see why a bigger body of water will hold many more big bass than smaller body and this will allow for more enjoyable experience if wanting to catch large bass. Especially if you are a good fisherman and can target those bass.

What's a reasonable chance? Remember this pond is only fished semi-annually (and I should add has never been artificially fed and never will be, and contains only pure native bass). The chances are 50% based on the last two years, of catching a 5 pound plus bass. I've already caught one on this spring's trip on a squirrell nymph, no less...a number 12 hook.

Where else can you go and have a 50% chance of catching a 5 pound bass in a 2 hour fishing session? With the Tilapia in that pond, I fully expect that to be a 50% chance of catching a 7 pound bass this fall or next spring. I like those odds. I don't know of anywhere else I can get those odds...Lake Fork included.

And this is only a 3/4 acre pond and 3/4 is being generous. I can not wait until my 2 acre pond with the F1s and Tilapia have another year on them.

I expect in that case to have a 50% chance of catching two or three bass in excess of 5 pounds each 2 hour visit. Think I'm crazy, come on over this fall or next spring and I'll prove it to you...it will only get fished twice a year, but man those two times are pure Ecstasy.

Now to scale up, if I had three or four such small ponds and 1 larger pond for the more frequent BG, HSB, and LMB fishing, then I believe I would never leave that place to go to the Bahamas or Mexico again...it would be the very best fishing experience I can imagine anyone having...outside of Alaska.

p.s. correction, I should have said "come on over a year from this fall and fish the 2 acre pond". No fishing until then at the earliest, but the invite is open for the 3/4 acre pond.

An interesting sidelight to this story...remember the poachers I recently caught fishing my larger pond? Well, they walked right by this 3/4 "farm" pond for the fishing in the "big" and better pond. Little did they know, and you guys will keep the secret, right?

ML, only fish it twice. If my clients only fished the pond twice they would not pay me to manage it. However I agree with you if the ponds did have that little fishing pressure they would have lots of 5 lb bass caught. Tried of talking about it and off subject from the thread question anyway.

I stocked my new pond the middle of July with F1's that were minnow size. I pellet feed and fertilize. I have been keeping an eye on my fish and they are now 4"-6" long and very aggressive while preying on minnows. I can't wait for another 60 days to see how big they get. Hope this helps.

Correction, I stocked the F1's the middle of June of this year.