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

I am not sure what all you need to know to answer this question but I will do my best.
I have a 1.5 acre pond about 11 feet deep that is about 12 years old. It is spring fed and is also run off fed. It has muddy water.

My goal for this pond is to raise nice BG, nice LMB, CC, and BC. Many of you have said the BC is a bad idea, but they were put in 10 years ago and now all I can do is try to manage them. I also have bull frogs and snails.

In June I put 2-4" 500 BG and 2000 FHM(no idea how many pounds that is) with the goal to stock LMB and CC in August. Now I am having seconds thoughts with the quantity and timing of the LMB and CC.
I am feeding 5D05 but BG have still not taken to that.

Here are my specific questions.
With the BC in there prior to this, should have I put more FHM in?
Should I continue with the August stocking plan or hold off?
What should I do with the snails, I am not sure that RES are available in our area?
Should I be doing somehting with the muddy water? (there is acres of grass all around, I assume it is heavy runoff problem)
Are there any other suggestions that you hve specific to my pond?
Thanks

With LMB, CC and BC you will have a lot of predators. Hopefully the experts will address this.

As you probably already know snails can be a conduit for parasites.

Nebraska mafia or other experts, can he have RES? Pumkinseed?

When you say you have BC, are your referring to Blue Catfish, or Bullhead Catfish?

Have you caught any of the catfish out of there if so what size are they and do you have some pictures.

Thanks

think maybe black crappie

I think your right, and BC are what I stocked in my pond before I found pond boss.

So I should have known that answer.

Sorry about the confusion.

Thanks

Are there any bass, catfish present in the pond from past stockings? Or does the pond just have BC from the past and the FHM and BG you recently stocked?

RES can be stocked and should be able to be sourced in Neb. There are several members here who are from that state who have them in their ponds... In an established pond, I would try to stock 75 6"+ adults to get them to take hold. If there are no larger 10"+ BC or LMB in your pond, more normal 3"-4" RES may be stocked at slightly higher numbers.

I'll let the feeding experts chime in on what you can do to get your BG to feed on pellets better. There are a number of methods you can use though.

BC can be difficult to manage, but they are not a death sentence. Generally an over abundant LMB population can keep them in check and lead to quality fish but there are many variables and things you too can do. Such as fishing and keeping all and as many as you can catch each year. Utilizing nets and traps to remove over abundant year classes, etc... Stocking FHM is just a 1 week snack in an established pond. Consider stocking larger sized golden shiners(GSH) and as you are doing, treat your BG well so they spawn and provide YOY as a food source.

Stocking the LMB and CC in the late summer or fall is not an issue IMO. I would try to get advanced sized LMB to stock if they will be competing with larger BC. 6"+ bass with 10"+ being better IMO. If you stock 10" fish, I would stock 45-60 LMB.

You can look into buffers around you pond to prevent runoff issues. Do a search of the forum as there are several excellent threads on here about that issue.

Sorry guys, BCP, Black Crappie.

Are there any bass, catfish present in the pond from past stockings?
There are no Bass or Catfish.

Or does the pond just have BC from the past and the FHM and BG you recently stocked?
Yes that is correct.

I called the local fisheries that I know about and neither had RES or GSH. Maybe our Lincoln expert could help me there.

I gave some thought to the larger LMB but thought they would be a little agressive for my younger BG. But maybe that is not the case?

To raise nice BG, you have to keep the population in check, and a slightly LMB heavy population will do that. If the BG get too large of a jump on the LMB, they won't reach a large size because of too many mouths to feed for the BG forage base.

Ok. That makes sense.
How many CC and LMB should I stock considering my 500 BG and an overpopulated BCP population?
And what size should each be?

You can do your share of reading about CC on here... I think most people who stock them, later wished they hadn't. My advice, only stock as many as you plan to eat in a year. CC become very hook shy, hard to get then grow to huge size, take up forage and huge amount of biomass. However, if managed correctly, they can help you meet your goals and provide some great angling and eating.

I just fished a neighbors pond for the past 2 evenings to catch some CC for a fish fry this weekend. His son has caught about 5 out of the pond, and C&R 5 more. They were stocked Spring of 2009. He hand feeds every evening.

After catching 2 CC on a Stubby Steves pellet (sinking) the fish disappeared for the night. I caught one on a jug sometime last night out of 4 jugs that I put in the pond. Tonight he didn't feed them, and I got there an hour after he normally feeds. I tossed out a couple handfuls of food and no CC showed up. After 45 minutes, I tossed out the 4 jugs and left. There are 100 CC that are about 18" long in a 1/4 ac pond.....

Smart little buggers...

"little buggers" wasn't quite the term that was used.....

Does any one have any thoughts on this question?
How many CC and LMB should I stock considering my 500 BG and an overpopulated BCP population?
And what size should each be?
To add to my info, we will be keeping every BCP that we catch.

I'd throw in 45-60 10"-12" LMB like CJ said and stock only as many CC as you plan on taking out next year. You might be better off stocking in late September due to fish not transporting well in high heat.

If you stock 9" CC, they will be 18" or so by next Fall (if you continue to pellet feed).

So, if you plan on catching out 50 CC next year, I'd only throw in 50 CC. They should be around 12"-13" next spring. Next Fall, stock as many as you want to catch the following year. I've found that if I stock them in the Spring, and catch & Release the small stocked ones during the summer, they are extremely hard to catch the following year.

I'd stock 50-75 LMB and would not stock CC. In my experience CC are just pond dominators and eventually ruiners. They almost can't be managed if they can reproduce. A lot of times LMB will just quit eating them after they have been spined trying to bite one. The size for me would be not big enough to eat the bg you are planting. If you could get less but large adult spawning bg I would go for 10-12 LMB.

No CC.
250 5-6" bg

75 8-10 LMB
or 50 10-12 LMB.

The bg will eventually compete for everything the overcrowded bcp need. The LMB will keep the bcp from establishing future generations. C and R every LMB, cull or selective harvest baby bg, and all bcp. In a few years you should be close to a healthy predator/forage balance.

This is great help. thanks everyone.
I will see what I can get my hands on or "spoken for".