Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose New MN Pond Stocking tips?

I have noticed that fish prices from MN hatcheries do seem awful pricey.

Yeah. I'm not going to mess with the out of state fish. Will work it out with native species like YP and BG in addition to what I now have. I hadn't done enough homework on the subject of fish across state lines but after hearing from DNR it's an easy decision.

Lenman, don't give up on the HBG, they make a great put and take fishery. In a small pond you will get catchable size fish very quickly and they are agressive. There is one MN hatchery I know of that still advertises HBG. They like to sell them in the fall so you could still get some this year. Go to the link below. Speaking of importing fish, the guy who used to own this fish farm was caught exporting fish out of MN without permits and selling within MN without making sure people had stocking permits. He was a little laid back in that respect. He got in trouble and was fined and driven out of the business. Someone else owns the hatchery now and last I heard they hired another fish farmer expert to run the place. I'd buy from him again however, he was a nice guy and knew his stuff.

http://www.sprucecreekfish.com/

I found another hatchery less than 30 miles from my home that sells HBG and LMB so I'm back on track...and without crossing state lines!

Don't forget that the HBG will eat a bunch of fathead minnows as well, so your forage base will be very limited using only fatheads especially without giving the fatheads a chance to multiply before the slaughter begins.

I get what you say about the forage. The 180 hbg were 3" long & 20 bass were 3-4". 35 walleyes 5-6". I put in 3 gallons of fhm and 2 wood pallets in shallow water to promote spawning. Hatchery suggested these fhm would reproduce enough tosustain population for now. Pond is new last year, 21 ft maximum, .6 acre. Do I hear suggestions for further forage supplementation? I have readily available fhm and some shiner species in nearby creeks as well.

Catching fish from a local creek carries risks... Unwanted species introduction, disease, parasites, unwanted plant species, etc. Strongly consider the risks... But if you do collect, make sure you collect from clean healthy water, look over your fish and be sure of their ID. If needed post pics on here so we can help you with the ID of them. It sure is a cheap way to give your fish a meal though. Also check local laws on the number of baitfish one can collect per day. Here in VA there are very specific numbers and what species may be kept. PA only allows 50 a day of all baitfish(none game) combined, almost makes it not worth while...