Pond Boss Magazine
https://www.pondboss.com/images/userfiles/image/20130301193901_6_150by50orangewhyshouldsubscribejpeg.jpg
Advertisment
Newest Members
Shotgun01, Dan H, Stipker, LunkerHunt23, Jeanjules
18,451 Registered Users
Forum Statistics
Forums36
Topics40,902
Posts557,131
Members18,452
Most Online3,612
Jan 10th, 2023
Top Posters
esshup 28,422
ewest 21,475
Cecil Baird1 20,043
Bill Cody 15,112
Who's Online Now
14 members (FishinRod, Bill Cody, Sunil, jpsdad, Boondoggle, Augie, Jason D, PRCS, Shorthose, Brett B, Layne, Angler8689, rjackson, esshup), 1,018 guests, and 223 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2
#210777 03/30/10 05:10 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 190
K
kurt Offline OP
Lunker
OP Offline
Lunker
K
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 190
Let me throw out this idea and see what you all think. One of the great aspects of this site is the ability to learn from so many people and to learn without making all the mistakes a newbie like me would be prone to make.

As the "dream" pushes forward, one thing I have learned from my Pond Boss magazine is plans change and there are many options available on how to run your pond.

Originally I was looking at a .5 acre catfish pond which would sit above the main pond of WE, SMB and YP. As I read more and more about pond capacities and catfish, I am thinking that .5 acre is going to support more fish than I will eat. In my warped mind, to have too many fish in a body of water that are not being eaten is to under utilize that body of water. If you have read the "Catfish and what" thread, we explored other options for the .5 acre and other fish to complement the catfish but none were forth coming. HSB, RE are not allowed in WI. I am avoiding BG, LMB and others to avoid any fish moving from above to the lower main pond and upsetting the balance of the lower pond.

After re-reading Cecil's article and his several ponds set up at 1/10th acre BOW, Eric West's work using blocking nets to create hatchery options and and the articles in the magazine on mini-ponds, I was wondering if I could split the .5 acre pond with a blocking net into two parts and have catfish in one side and rainbow trout in the other.

1. The side with trout would be dug deeper, 10-12 feet with narrow sides to help with water heating up
Is this typically deep enough for trout

2. I have a well that could pump water as Cecil does for 4 months of the year to keep water cool.

3. A Vertex aerator will be installed
if this split is possible should the aerator be on the catfish side or trout side?

4. I will have a feeder installed to feed fish.
dumb question - would I or should I have a separate feeder and use separate types of food or is trout and catfish food close enough for my small limited operations?

5. Trout and Catfish will be stocked at low densities.
Question - is this good 50-100 fish to be stocked?

6. I will have several forage ponds producing FH, Golden shiners, Blunt-nose (I hope). These forage fish will help supplement the feeding. I will leave the Golden shiners out of the .5 pond.
question- Goldens are two quick for catfish and can grow too large or at least that is what I have read and understood. Does that apply to Trout also?

Finally, I am thinking about the blocking net for the following reasons:
- the .5 acre pond will be excavated as part of the barrow area
- To have two separate ponds, I would have to build a dividing wall between them
- I was hoping in this crazy plan to share aerator, feeder, food, drain pipe, overflow pipe between the two .25 acre ponds (save a little money)
- If the plan eventually proved to be stupid and not maintainable, I could just pull out the blocking net and go back to having a .5 acre catfish pond.

There it is-- any feedback or threads helping in the planing, decision process is appreciated.


13 acres,
5 ponds 1 still working
FHM, Shiners, CC, SMB, WE, Yellow Perch
living the dream




Can't have everything...where would you put it?
kurt #210829 03/30/10 08:28 PM
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 3,135
A
Ambassador
Lunker
Offline
Ambassador
Lunker
A
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 3,135
Kurt I'm sure more knowledgeable people will give you advice but I'll throw in my 2 cents.

1&2, 10 to 12 ft should be deep enough if you can pump cold well water in, but it would help to increase the O2 in the well water by running it down a short course of rocks to the pond.
3. In most cases an aerator is a big help but let the experts weigh in.
4. Catfish don't require as high a protein diet as trout, and I believe that catfish usually use sinking feed, so it's a matter of how much efficiency you want.
5.Yeah I would say no more than 50 in a quarter acre, but that also depends on what size you are stocking.
6. I have lots of GSH in my trout pond and they love them, and I'm sure Channel cats would make use of them also.

If you stock trout start off with rainbows, they're the most tolerant of warmer water but try to keep it under 70F.

Good luck, read up on as much info as possible.



Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 190
K
kurt Offline OP
Lunker
OP Offline
Lunker
K
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 190
Thanks,

any help is appreciated. I am really excited about this project.


13 acres,
5 ponds 1 still working
FHM, Shiners, CC, SMB, WE, Yellow Perch
living the dream




Can't have everything...where would you put it?
kurt #211145 04/01/10 08:13 PM
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458
Likes: 2
C
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Offline
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Hall of Fame
Lunker
C
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458
Likes: 2
Kurt, I just saw this post... Give me some time to digest it all and I will try to give you some well thought out ideas and opinions of mine...

kurt #211164 04/01/10 09:19 PM
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458
Likes: 2
C
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Offline
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Hall of Fame
Lunker
C
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458
Likes: 2
I like how you try to utilize so many ideas of different members to make things work for you and your goals!

Here is my first impression of mixing trout and CC. My dad's friend has a trout pond which stays naturally cold because of a fairly decent sized spring flowing into it and the higher elevation his property is located(around 3000'). Before he dug other ponds on his property, he mixed some CC in with the trout. No blocking net, they just were held together. The biggest thing I saw was the CC just didn't grow fast. They survived, but growth rates were slow even with supplemental feeding. I think that may be one of your biggest challenges in a dual pond like this.

Even if the CC and trout are separated by a blocking net, which I am not sure is even needed... The water temperature on the CC side is pretty much going to be close to the temperature on the trout side. The net isn't going to effect the water flow between the two sides. Even if you dig the trout side a bit deeper. The use of an aerator would have to probably be utilized the way AP does and that is have it set to only run when air temps are below say 68 degrees. How many nights in the summer does the air temp drop below 68 in your area? The deeper aspect would be helpful in giving you more water volume allowing it to maintain a cooler temp through a heat spell. However, you're gonna have to run that well water a lot in the summer I am guessing... Cecil is the man to ask when it comes to that. Perhaps, you can send him a PM and ask him to post his thoughts and ideas on this as well...

As far as feed, use trout feed the catfish will do just fine on it, but not vice versa. I don't think GSH are too fast for CC to feed on. Once CC reach the 2 pound range, they are efficient piscavorous predators. If your purpose in this pond is to grow catfish to eating size and then harvest them, the need to stock GSH is not there. FHM would do fine. FHM will usually hold up in numbers when only CC and trout are present. Now if you plan to grow CC larger than a couple pounds, then you can consider adding GSH. Remember though, you're planning on feeding pellets so the CC and trout will be obtaining most of their food via pellets in all likelihood. GSH may get too big for the trout and CC and you could have issues with that, so that is why I would hesitate adding them even if you plan on growing the CC larger than 2 pounds. Rely on FHM, bluntnose minnows and pellets to feed your CC and trout.

To wrap it up... I don't think you even need a block net... There is no reason you can't mix trout and CC IMO. Unless your growing 8 pound plus CC which would then prey on your trout, they will live together fine. I think you will see greatly reduced growth rates in your CC if they are kept in water temps suitable for trout but they will grow. Feed them trout feed and both the trout and CC will grow fine. See if you can get Cecil to weigh in on how much well water pumping you're gonna need to keep the pond cool enough for trout. I think that is going to be the biggest challenge... Keeping the pond cold enough and oxygenated enough through the warm summer months. A combination of well water, aeration used in the correct way may allow trout to survive the summer, but I think it will be a challenge.

Best of luck and keep us updated on what you decide to do...

Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 190
K
kurt Offline OP
Lunker
OP Offline
Lunker
K
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 190
Fantastic info. It sounds like keeping the water cool with well pumping will be the biggest challenge.

Since construction has not started in the barrow area the following questions pertain to what can be done to help with keeping water cooler.

Elevation of pond is minimal around 1000ft.
Steeper banks to minimize water warming and depths at lest 10-12 feet

Pond Construction
In pond construction I read that you want no more than 25% 3 feet or less to minimize weed growth and at least 25% to be the deeper area say 10-12 feet. That leaves roughly 50% to be from 3 feet to the bottom depth. In this pond would I want a greater % to be at the deepest point say 50% to be 10-12 foot?

Thanks again. I will keep the rusted wheels of my mind slowly turning


13 acres,
5 ponds 1 still working
FHM, Shiners, CC, SMB, WE, Yellow Perch
living the dream




Can't have everything...where would you put it?
kurt #211250 04/02/10 02:12 PM
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 349
R
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Offline
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
R
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 349
Kurt, if you can afford to go deeper i would think it would minize heat transfer. More deep area v's shallow. Many people around here thought it was a waste of time/money for me to go to 18 ft with my pond here in Fl. But i feel that i will have the chance to grow larger fish due to them having access to colder water during the hot summers. They are unlikely to slow down eating (during summer time) compared to shallow ponds in my area. I think its money well spent as long as you can areate all of the depth so its usable. My areator runs 24/7 at 18 ft deep.


I subscribe!
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 190
K
kurt Offline OP
Lunker
OP Offline
Lunker
K
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 190
I forgot to ask this question.

Since trout will not reproduce and I will not put in structure for catfish to reproduce, I will need to yearly or every other year re-stock both catfish and trout. After several years, trout and catfish remaining in the pond will have some size to them probably each fish will be less than 100LBS haha but seriously folks, if I re-stock I am thinking that the fingerlings will become food for the larger and older fish.

Do I need to plan on growing out trout and catfish in a cage (many articles in Pond Boss by Bill and Cecil) or in a grow out pond???

Or will fingerling trout and catfish be able to avoid predation with enough Fatheads and blunt-nose and supplemental feeding??


13 acres,
5 ponds 1 still working
FHM, Shiners, CC, SMB, WE, Yellow Perch
living the dream




Can't have everything...where would you put it?
kurt #211266 04/02/10 04:36 PM
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458
Likes: 2
C
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Offline
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Hall of Fame
Lunker
C
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458
Likes: 2
It depends on what the goal of the pond is... Are these trout and catfish mostly for food, as in harvesting shortly after they reach eating size? Trout, around 10"-12", CC around 14"-16". Will you be harvesting them after a year or two of growth or are you going to try to grow larger fish by letting them in the pond for several years. If you allow CC to reach 4 or 5 pounds and trout to push the 15"+ range, you're gonna experience them eating some of the fingerlings you stock. Utilizing cage culture or stocking larger fish will mitigate this. One thing nice about CC is how cheap advanced fingerlings are. I find when stocking trout into the creek behind our cabin, that fish under 9" are turned into forage for other fish. When I stocked them 10"+, they survive and do well... Stocking 4" trout into a pond that contains 5 pound CC and 18" trout is going lead to an expensive food source those fingerlings become.

Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 190
K
kurt Offline OP
Lunker
OP Offline
Lunker
K
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 190
Again, thanks for the info I think the plan is changing with all things considered. I read a little on WI DNR and NY DNR and I think I am leaning toward your first option there CJBS2003.

I think I will lean toward stocking in the fall maybe 50 8-10inch and look to fish them out by late May or June. I may try the first year to run the well and aerator when needed but since we do not live on site, it sounds like the trout may take more care than we can provide during the warmer months.

The catfish would sort of be in the same boat. I am not looking to grow big fish but more toward eating size and fun catching size though it will not be a priority to fish them out.

Since I would be stocking a small number of trout and catfish 50 maybe a little more in the .5 pond, the cost is not so high that I could not look at larger more advanced fish which as you stated should help limit fish loss due to predation.

anything else I need to think through?


13 acres,
5 ponds 1 still working
FHM, Shiners, CC, SMB, WE, Yellow Perch
living the dream




Can't have everything...where would you put it?
kurt #211279 04/02/10 06:43 PM
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,422
Likes: 795
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Online Content
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,422
Likes: 795
With my experience this winter, if you run an aerator during the winter, you can feed the trout in the same hole all winter long. I had an aerator set at 4' depth (suspended) in 10' of water in front of the feeder. The feeder was set to go off once/day and the trout ate every day. From late October until now they've put on from 2"-4" and some have gained over 1/2#. I stocked 10"-12" fish, IIRC they were right around 1# when stocked. I caught one Wed night that was 15" and 1.6#.


www.hoosierpondpros.com


http://www.pondboss.com/subscribe.asp?c=4
3/4 to 1 1/4 ac pond LMB, SMB, PS, BG, RES, CC, YP, Bardello BG, (RBT & Blue Tilapia - seasonal).
kurt #211289 04/02/10 08:26 PM
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Offline
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
 Originally Posted By: kurt
Let me throw out this idea and see what you all think. One of the great aspects of this site is the ability to learn from so many people and to learn without making all the mistakes a newbie like me would be prone to make.

As the "dream" pushes forward, one thing I have learned from my Pond Boss magazine is plans change and there are many options available on how to run your pond.

Originally I was looking at a .5 acre catfish pond which would sit above the main pond of WE, SMB and YP. As I read more and more about pond capacities and catfish, I am thinking that .5 acre is going to support more fish than I will eat. In my warped mind, to have too many fish in a body of water that are not being eaten is to under utilize that body of water. If you have read the "Catfish and what" thread, we explored other options for the .5 acre and other fish to complement the catfish but none were forth coming. HSB, RE are not allowed in WI. I am avoiding BG, LMB and others to avoid any fish moving from above to the lower main pond and upsetting the balance of the lower pond.

After re-reading Cecil's article and his several ponds set up at 1/10th acre BOW, Eric West's work using blocking nets to create hatchery options and and the articles in the magazine on mini-ponds, I was wondering if I could split the .5 acre pond with a blocking net into two parts and have catfish in one side and rainbow trout in the other.

1. The side with trout would be dug deeper, 10-12 feet with narrow sides to help with water heating up
Is this typically deep enough for trout


Deepness doesn't automatically make a pond fit for trout. We have natural lakes in my area that are 60 to 70 feet deep and only have enough oxygen in the top 20 feet as soon as late June. Sure, that deeper water can stay cool enough for trout after the pond stratifies, but you need a minimum of 5 ppm until the pond turns over in fall. Most ponds start to get depleted oxygen in their hypoliminion at your latitude. There are exceptions as in some very deep gravel pits with low fertility substrata however. But usually these pits are quite deep at at least 30 or 40 feet deep and have a low fertility.

One alternative is hypolimnetic aeration where oxygen is injected into the hypolimnion or diffuser aeration is so minimal it won't break up the stratification.

 Originally Posted By: kurt
2. I have a well that could pump water as Cecil does for 4 months of the year to keep water cool.


But keep in mind my I was pumping 45 gpms 24 /7 . That's 64,800 gallons a day. To keep a .5 acre pond cool enough you might have to pump at least 5 X that much or 225 gallons a day which comes out to 324,000 gallons a day.

 Originally Posted By: kurt
3. A Vertex aerator will be installed
if this split is possible should the aerator be on the catfish side or trout side?


If you're talking about a diffuser that breaks up the thermocline, if you're not pumping enough water (as in above) you will probably warm your water up too much for the trout. My .5 acre pond that uses diffusion to break up the thermocline warms up to the upper 70's in the summer from top to bottom.

 Originally Posted By: kurt
4. I will have a feeder installed to feed fish.
dumb question - would I or should I have a separate feeder and use separate types of food or is trout and catfish food close enough for my small limited operations?


High protein for the trout - at least 41 percent. But I would simplify by using the high protein for both.

 Originally Posted By: kurt
5. Trout and Catfish will be stocked at low densities.
Question - is this good 50-100 fish to be stocked?


What size?

 Originally Posted By: kurt
6. I will have several forage ponds producing FH, Golden shiners, Blunt-nose (I hope). These forage fish will help supplement the feeding. I will leave the Golden shiners out of the .5 pond.


Trout will go after the fatheads and shiners if they are not too big.

 Originally Posted By: kurt
question- Goldens are two quick for catfish and can grow too large or at least that is what I have read and understood. Does that apply to Trout also?


The trout can catch the shiners, however if you are also feeding the trout pellets they will predominately feed on the pellets.

 Originally Posted By: kurt
Finally, I am thinking about the blocking net for the following reasons:
- the .5 acre pond will be excavated as part of the barrow area
- To have two separate ponds, I would have to build a dividing wall between them
- I was hoping in this crazy plan to share aerator, feeder, food, drain pipe, overflow pipe between the two .25 acre ponds (save a little money)
- If the plan eventually proved to be stupid and not maintainable, I could just pull out the blocking net and go back to having a .5 acre catfish pond.


I tried a blocking net once to separate browns and brooks in the 1/10th acre pond. It was a failure and a waste of time and money.

 Originally Posted By: kurt
There it is-- any feedback or threads helping in the planing, decision process is appreciated.



If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 5
T
Fingerling
Offline
Fingerling
T
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 5
I have a question; I live in Minnesota and have a very small pond in my back yard (4'wide X 20'long and 4' deep)for you guys this is not even a pond but a pail.
Anyhoo, I am wondering if it would be possible to raise rainbow trout for a season. My intention is to probably just fish them out during the year and not overwinter them or really try and raise them, just fish them. It has excellent aeration but it does get a bit warm. Is this just a pipe dream or is it possible? If not is there another species that could handle these conditions?
Thanks

Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Offline
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
 Originally Posted By: terravista
I have a question; I live in Minnesota and have a very small pond in my back yard (4'wide X 20'long and 4' deep)for you guys this is not even a pond but a pail.
Anyhoo, I am wondering if it would be possible to raise rainbow trout for a season. My intention is to probably just fish them out during the year and not overwinter them or really try and raise them, just fish them. It has excellent aeration but it does get a bit warm. Is this just a pipe dream or is it possible? If not is there another species that could handle these conditions?
Thanks


If you're NOT going to make it a flow through pond with aerated well water than it is pipe dream (year around that is). However one thing you have going for you is a smaller a pond is easier keep it cool as you won't have to flow through as much water (less pumping).

As far as overwintering them it's usually easier to overwinter trout than it is to oversummer them for obvious reasons.

Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 04/02/10 09:12 PM.

If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,712
Likes: 3
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Offline
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,712
Likes: 3
 Originally Posted By: terravista
I have a question; I live in Minnesota and have a very small pond in my back yard (4'wide X 20'long and 4' deep)for you guys this is not even a pond but a pail.
Anyhoo, I am wondering if it would be possible to raise rainbow trout for a season. My intention is to probably just fish them out during the year and not overwinter them or really try and raise them, just fish them. It has excellent aeration but it does get a bit warm. Is this just a pipe dream or is it possible? If not is there another species that could handle these conditions?
Thanks


It really depends on several factors, but I believe you could possibly do it successfully. A pond that size, if it has any water movement at all, will probably have pretty consistent temperatures everywhere. Rainbow would probably be my only choice. If you are north of Duluth, you might have a chance to make it through the summer, but not the winter. If you are south of the Cities, I'd say you don't have a chance to make it through the summer or winter.

You probably could do OK from ice-out until mid-June, and from late September until ice-over.

The neat thing about trout, if they have clean well-oxygenated moving water at or below the mid-60s, is that you can crowd them. Hatchery rainbow take feed readily, they grow fast, and they are easy to catch. Unfortunately, they start to die pretty quickly when the temperature gets into the high 60s, and/or if you don't have adequate oxygen.

Good luck,
Ken


Subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine

Peculiar Friends are Better than No Friends at All!
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Offline
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
Good points Ken. What some people forget about trout is they are routinely raised in raceways 3 feet deep and maybe double that in width. The don't need much room but they do need 55 to 65 F. temp water for optimum growth and health along with a minimum of 5 ppm of D.O.


If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 5
T
Fingerling
Offline
Fingerling
T
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 5
I think the temp may get as high as the upper 60's. I am thinking that I would stock it with 10-30 10" fish and then kind of fish them out over the year ( April-Nov). I have good areation (2'wide falls dropping straight down 2' into a catch basin). Would they be able to survive the season? Is this a good size to try this with?
Thanks again.

Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Offline
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
 Originally Posted By: terravista
I think the temp may get as high as the upper 60's. I am thinking that I would stock it with 10-30 10" fish and then kind of fish them out over the year ( April-Nov). I have good areation (2'wide falls dropping straight down 2' into a catch basin). Would they be able to survive the season? Is this a good size to try this with?
Thanks again.


If your pond temps max at the upper 60's you may be able to pull off holdover through the summer. If you stock brown trout you have a better chance then rainbows or brooks.


If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,422
Likes: 795
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Online Content
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,422
Likes: 795
Cecil:

What's the temp range of Brookies vs. Browns vs. Rainbows? What are the lethal upper limits? (providing there is enough DO at those temps)


www.hoosierpondpros.com


http://www.pondboss.com/subscribe.asp?c=4
3/4 to 1 1/4 ac pond LMB, SMB, PS, BG, RES, CC, YP, Bardello BG, (RBT & Blue Tilapia - seasonal).
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,712
Likes: 3
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Offline
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,712
Likes: 3
Terra,

Nobody knows more about raising trophy trout in small ponds than our friend Cecil. He has raised some monster trout. If he suggests browns, I'd go with browns.

This is Cecil and one of his back yard browns:



I don't have a lot experience with browns, but if they feed anywhere near like rainbow, they will grow quite fast. You just have to make sure you supply a good high protein feed, and not so much as to degrade water quality, but enough that they grow really fast.

With the description of your water source, I think you could go near the high end for quantity. At least out here, trout are relatively inexpensive and easy to locate from dealers. It may be worth a try with a small quantity. Keep increasing the quantity to see when you reach water quality limits or die off.

Good luck. Keep us informed.

Ken


Subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine

Peculiar Friends are Better than No Friends at All!
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 5
T
Fingerling
Offline
Fingerling
T
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 5
How fast should I assume that they would grow given adequate amounts of food?
What size would be Ideal to start with?
When you say on the high end of quantity, how many would you suggest?
Thanks again

Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Offline
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
 Originally Posted By: terravista
How fast should I assume that they would grow given adequate amounts of food?


Up to an inch per month.


 Originally Posted By: terravista
What size would be Ideal to start with?


Depends on how long you want to wait for them to get to a certain size. Sometimes smaller fish adapt better initially, but they are also easier prey by predator birds and other fish.

 Originally Posted By: terravista
When you say on the high end of quantity, how many would you suggest?


I think Ken said this?

Personally I go by flow rate at a max harvest of 12 lbs. per gpm. I tried not to go much above 500 lbs. of trout upon harvest of my 1/10th acre pond with 45 gpm.

 Originally Posted By: terravista
Thanks again



Here's my biggest brown. Just under 12 lbs. It was 5 years old maximum. I got it as a 3 year old about 18 inches and kept it two more years. My neighbor is holding it as he got off his lawnmower and helped me land it.



Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 04/03/10 04:17 PM.

If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,712
Likes: 3
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Offline
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,712
Likes: 3
Terra,

As for size, it is a balancing act. The smaller and younger they are, the higher the mortality rate. The larger and older they are, the slower they grow, and the closer they are to their last days. Somewhere in between is just right. Ten to twelve inch trout should be good place to start.

Ken

P.S. This link will give you a good idea of weight vs. length. Relative Weight for Trout, Pike, Musky and Rock Bass


Subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine

Peculiar Friends are Better than No Friends at All!
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 5
T
Fingerling
Offline
Fingerling
T
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 5
THose are some beautiful fish, Cecil. I'm envious, I do not think that I'll be able to grow any that big.
I am thinking that I would like them at least 12-14" (small filleting size) when I catch them.
I'll only have 7 months to grow them and I will not be able to overwinter them.
I could assume that if I want to catch some that are around the 14" range maybe start with 10" fish.
Will they grow quicker with the warmer temps or will they do poorly because of it?
Im shooting about a 1/550th of an acre pond. 10 fish?
When you mention flow rate what am I measuring?
My pump circulates about 1800GPH or 30 gallons per minute.
This rate is the pump to the falls, or the amount coming over the falls.
Thanks again

Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Offline
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
 Originally Posted By: terravista
THose are some beautiful fish, Cecil. I'm envious, I do not think that I'll be able to grow any that big.
I am thinking that I would like them at least 12-14" (small filleting size) when I catch them.
I'll only have 7 months to grow them and I will not be able to overwinter them.
I could assume that if I want to catch some that are around the 14" range maybe start with 10" fish.



 Originally Posted By: terravista
Will they grow quicker with the warmer temps or will they do poorly because of it?


They will grow the fastest at the upper range of their optimum temps which are 55 to 65 F. Above and below that, growth is not as good. Too high and you end up with stress, disease, and mortalities.


 Originally Posted By: terravista
I'm shooting about a 1/550th of an acre pond. 10 fish?


Not sure. When in doubt always stock conservatively.


 Originally Posted By: terravista
When you mention flow rate what am I measuring?
My pump circulates about 1800GPH or 30 gallons per minute.
This rate is the pump to the falls, or the amount coming over the falls.
Thanks again


I'm talking about inflow of fresh water which in my case was well water.


Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 04/03/10 09:35 PM.

If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






Page 1 of 2 1 2

Link Copied to Clipboard
Today's Birthdays
cro, HC1968
Recent Posts
Can anyone ID these minnows?
by jpsdad - 03/29/24 09:19 AM
Relative weight charts in Excel ? Calculations?
by Boondoggle - 03/29/24 09:00 AM
pond experience needed
by esshup - 03/29/24 08:19 AM
Dewatering bags seeded to form berms?
by RogersTailgate - 03/29/24 05:45 AM
New pond middle TN: establishing food chain?
by Bill Cody - 03/28/24 07:57 PM
Happy Birthday Bob Lusk!!
by FireIsHot - 03/28/24 07:33 PM
Working on a .5acre disaster, I mean pond.
by PRCS - 03/28/24 06:39 PM
Fungus infection on fish
by nvcdl - 03/28/24 06:07 PM
1 year after stocking question
by esshup - 03/28/24 04:48 PM
Yellow Perch Spawn 2024
by H20fwler - 03/28/24 04:29 PM
New 2 acre pond stocking plan
by LANGSTER - 03/28/24 03:49 PM
Newly Uploaded Images
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
by Tbar, December 10
Deer at Theo's 2023
Deer at Theo's 2023
by Theo Gallus, November 13
Minnow identification
Minnow identification
by Mike Troyer, October 6
Sharing the Food
Sharing the Food
by FishinRod, September 9
Nice BGxRES
Nice BGxRES
by Theo Gallus, July 28
Snake Identification
Snake Identification
by Rangersedge, July 12

� 2014 POND BOSS INC. all rights reserved USA and Worldwide

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5