Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Can this mix work? Should I add all the fish at once?

My new 1.5 acre pond here in central Iowa just filled this spring, and I am ready to stock it. About half of the pond is 20-25 feet. I will be adding 150 1 year old LMB and 450 3-4 inch BG within the next 10 days. I want to add yellow perch, smallmouth bass, and walleye as "bonus fish". Should I add all species (at approximately the same size) at once, or should I use some strategy with the introduction of each type of fish? Does anyone feel they need to waive the caution flag on this mixture of fish?

Any minnows? You'll want give your BG a chance to spawn this spring and summer before you ad your bsss. Ad Minnows and BG now wait on the bass.

Wave it, don't waive it.

BG & LMB you possibly could get away with together, depending on sizes & numbers, plus how long the volunteer invertebrate foodchain has had to become established in the pond (& if FHM were stocked earlier).

But adding the other species calls for more caution. We have had a number of threads concerning stocking BG-YP-SMB ponds, and the CW held with at least a year's spread to introduce all of those. You're talking a situation a little more complicated than that - let's kick this one around a little and see what makes sense to the YP-SMB-LMB experts.

P.S. I would want to stock my initial SMB no later than my other main predators (LMB & WE) to be able to use smaller stockers and hold down costs. This may not be an issue for you.

Here's one way to look at it for the Bluegill and the LMB. With 150 LMB, and 450 Bluegill stocked at the same time, you are providing approx. (3) Bluegill for each of your bass to eat.

That is not much of a forage base.

EDIT: Per what ewest says below, the 1 year old LMB can easily eat the 3-4" bluegill pretty much right at the time of stocking.

To many predators for the size of the pond and not enough forage. It takes a carefully designed plan to stock advanced stocker fish. For example a standard BG/LMB plan using 2-3in fish uses 1000 BG and 100 LMB per acre. If you use 4-5 in BG and 4-6 in LMB (stocked later) the numbers are about 250 and 25. You have to leave carrying capacity for the fish to grow into. In the alternative you can have a put and take pond with adult fish and limited recruitment. That number of advanced LMB will eliminate your BG. The one thing that is a big mistake is to have your LMB eat your breeding stock BG. Without the BG you have no forage to sustain the fishery unless you are constantly replacing them.

The way I like to put it regarding stocking of predators vs forage: A newly stocked predator ought to be able to go to sleep with its mouth open and wake up with a full belly.

That will insure a renewable protien supply and, assuming proper stocking rates and management, a balanced fishery for the future.

Dave glad you are up and active this am.

DD wrote "ought to be able to go to sleep with its mouth open and wake up with a full belly."

This has caused a Dave Davidson Relative Weight of 145%.

I'm way ahead of DD on that, brother.

ICHawkI, there seems to be a consensus that you have too many predators and not enough prey. Is there any reason you can't add more and some bigger GB? What about RES? You might consider adding the SMB, walleye and yellow perch along with the BG and RES now and then the LMB later.

Norm that idea might work well. Establish the rest of the fishery and then add a few advanced LMB after the rest have good numbers. If you have a couple of year classes of BG , YP and maybe some GShiners with one year old SMB and eyes then add some 6in. LMB it might work great. If it gets out of balance then add adult fish of the right type to bring it back in balance.

OK, the LMB and BG were delivered today. The bass and bluegill are about the same size. If fact, the BG probably have half an inch on most of the bass, so predation should not be an issue for a short while. With a successful spawn in the upcoming months, I should have 225 (assuming half female) BG dropping eggs. Won't that get the food chain off to a decent start since the original BG being stocked are the same size as the bass?

Is it safe to say most people feel tripling the number of BG in the pond is not going to do anything except give the food chain a jump start?
Adding more BG is no problem. I'm happy to do it. In fact, I can have them by the weekend if need be.

About the perch though, will stocking the same size yellow perch be a good idea now so that they can spawn as well while the predator counts are lower? I'm assuming the BG will hammer the YP fry.

ICHawkI, you've missed the yellow perch spawning season already. I personally would add them now and let them get some size quickly. In my experience, they really don't have much of a chance when the LMB get bigger. I would certainly add the SMB and walleye now.

Yes, you really do want to give the food chain a jump start as much as you can as quickly as you can. That means more and bigger BG. Also, fathead minnows immediately and maybe some RES.

What size were the BG and LMB ?

The bluegill and largemounth were all in the 3-4 inch range.

Hawk,
Others can correct me, and I didn't notice where you are from, but doubt you will get a BG spawn this year.

I think you are seriously in need of some fatheads and some larger bluegill.

Gumboot you are right. I doubt that either the BG or LMB will spawn this year. LMB possibly not (likely will but a chance they won't) next year either.

I was making a post but had to stop in the middle so GB posted first. I agree you need some adult BG. The BG and LMB you put in are your long term spawners. You need to be sure the LMB can't eat those BG before the BG spawn. The only way to be sure of that is to put in BG to big for them to eat. Those LMB will be big enough to eat some of the new BG by next spring. Probably the female BG and any slow growth males. That makes it a bigger risk. To avoid that put in some adult BG now (40 to 50 - be sure you get both male and female). They will be to big to be eaten and will also provide you an additional year class of BG this year. That plus a few FH would help.

My 3 and 4 inch bluegill had a HUGE spawn last summer. We could see fish along the shore all summer. Last weekend I drilled through 18 inches of ice, dropped my Aqua-Vu through the ice, and am happy to report I saw tiny bluegill within 5 minutes checking out my camera. It's been a long winter, and I feared oxygen might be an issue, but we have 18-20 feet at the deepest part of the pond and it apparently is enough.

Initially I stocked 450 BG and 150 LMB in May, all in the 3-4 inch range. The bass were 6-8 inches by the end of the summer. After the BG spawn, my BG population should be through the roof. Between the BG fry, invertibrates, tadpoles, etc, he LMB will have all the food they desire. I added 50 SMB as "bonus" fish. I don't expect them to spawn, but the LMB and BG (again) should both be ready to spawn this summer.

Excellent IC! It sounds like you are off to a great start and will have some fun fishing this summer!

Why not try to get some friends together and put some big adult BG in put 50 to 100. So your next spawn will have a ton of new BG.