Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Corrective stocking Western South Dakota pond help.

Hey guys,

New to the pond management game, but I am eager to learn! I recently aquired a parcel of land that has a 5 acre dugout on it, avg depth is 20', it is supplied by runoff, and a fairly healthy spring at the bottom of it.
the dugout was re-built 5 years ago, and the landowner put 50 8" crappies and 50 small bluegills after it was filled. It has not been fished since, so I don't know the condition or size of fish in it right now.
My primary goal is to grow big perch in it. I just don't know how to balace the fish populations in the dam to make it achievable.
I don't think there has been any minnows put in the dam either, so another question is if I should put some of those in right away?
Before the landowner made the dugout bigger, he said there was a really good population of big crappies and nice gills, but he needed to drain it to work on it. So he is positive there was nothing in there afterwards until the latest batch of crappies and gills were put in.

sorry for all the questions,

Thanks for any help!

Hello and welcome. A few thoughts on your post:

1) You will need some sort of predator to control the crappie and bluegill in your pond. Five years of unchecked reproduction will likely mean that there are lots of small crappie and bluegill present. However, 100 total fish for a 5 acre pond isn't a lot, so there is a chance that it hasn't become an issue yet. Largemouth bass are one of the few fish that can control bluegill in a pond but they can put a huge dent in a population of yellow perch as they're easier for them to eat so it may be difficult to establish them. Smallmouth bass would be a better option for yellow perch but can't control bluegill.

2) Five acres isn't usually considered to be large enough for crappie, but there are exceptions to the rule. Were any other fish in the pond than the bluegill and crappie before it was drained?

3) Stocking minnows is probably dependant on the current fish population. If you have lots of hungry crappie they probably won't last very long. If the fish population has remained low, they may be able to establish themselves. Fathead minnows will most likely end up being eaten no matter how well they initially do. Golden shiners have a better chance of becoming established long term.

There are lots of people more knowledgable than me here who will be able to provide more input and options for you, someone will be along soon!

When you say your primary goal is to grow big perch... Are you referring to yellow perch or sunfish perch? Perch has different meanings in different parts of the country.

If the pond does indeed only have crappie and BG in it, especially for the past 5 years, in all likelihood you have large numbers of 2"-4" starving BG and 3"-5" paper thin and starving crappies. Both species generally spawn in large numbers and need a higher end predator to control them.

As has been said, crappies are generally not recommended for small bodies of water. Many biologists feel 200 acres is a minimum size for them and some say 1000+. There are few lakes I know that produce quality crappies less than 200 acres. There are exceptions, but these are not the norm.

Have you fished this pond at all? If so, what have you caught?

After a little more talking with the landowner, we are going on 3 years for the crappies and BG being put in it. He said that there is a handfull of SMB too, so hopefully they are doing a little regulating right now. I have not fished it at all, so I have no idea whats in it right now. I just got the rights to it a week ago, and am trying to gain as much knowledge as possible before I take any actions. My goal fish is YP, sorry I didn't clarify earlier. I am hoping to fish it this weekend, but with turkey season here, I think I might be busy guiding.

thanks for the advice so far

SMB are going to struggle to control BG, let alone BG and crappie. Even in large numbers they will struggle to control those species. You may have a large challenge to overcome.

Dugout -- largemouth bass! Definitely. Can you get some pre-spawn adults stocked this spring?? Get them going for several years before you add the yellow perch. Need to get an abundant predator base established if you want them to control the reproduction by three panfish species!

Let us know if the toms are responding to your call yet!!

Dave

Thanks guys,

Dave, I haven't gotten far enough along to find out where I can even get fish from yet, So I don't know about getting pre-spawn LMBs yet. I will look into that soon.

As far as the turks go, This is by far the most responsive I have seen the turkeys for opening weekend. I don't understand why either, because it seems like spring is running a little behind schedule. I've been turkey hunting for a long time, and the one thing I have figured out about them, is that every time I think I have them figured out, they prove me wrong.

Sometimes I watch turkeys and think they are dumbest animals that I've ever seen. Then I hunt them and find that they come in 2nd place behind me.

Go fishing, and keep a log of what you catch, when you catch it and sizes. That might answer more questions than we can.

Dugout, I'm leaving in a couple of minutes for the Pond Boss Conference, so I'm not at work. I've got the SDGFP list of SD private fish producers at my office. If you want to PM me your email address, I can get that list to you. I won't be back in the office until next Monday. If you want to contact SDGFP Fisheries in Pierre, they would also send that list to you.

I was able to stop and fish for about an hour, I did see plenty of fish surfacing, but I was fishing from shore, and I wasn't planning on fishing there, so I had no bait and had no luck. I don't know what the fish were that I saw surface, but they looked to be decent sized. I was a little discouraged though, When casting from shore I couldn't find anything that looked to be deeper than 5 fow. I didn't check everywhere, but I'm having a hard time believing that there is 12-15 fow like the landowner said. When I take the little boat out, I will know for sure. Do you think if it is only 5 fow it will be worth trying to manage it, or should I start looking for another pond?

Thanks!

Try the boat to see if there are any deep holes. If the pond is only five feet now, what will the depth be in the middle of a hot dry summmer? Where those fish jumping out of the water, or just dimpling the surface?

A couple times I saw fish jump out of the water, but it was too fast to identify species. The rest of the time they were dimpling the water, but it was enough to allow me to see the head of the fish, and it seemed to be fair sized. Looked like BG to me, but I can't be certain. Not sure about depth in the middle of the summer. About 4 years ago, we finally started coming out of a decade long drought that ruined a lot of fishing ponds, including this one. It was re-dug at that time, but I fear that since we have had many "gully washers" in the last 3 years, it might have silted in again without the landowner knowing. I will keep my fingers crossed until I can make it out there on the boat though.

Dugout, I'm back in the office. If you want to send me a PM with your address, I can email those producer lists for both states. Richard Carlson of Clearwater Fish Farms in Wayne, NE, was at the Pond Boss Conference. He has VHS certification and can cross state lines. Here is my email if you want to contact me directly: david.willis@sdstate.edu

Hello DugOut,

Where are you at is SD Im in sturgis, and if you want any hands on help with your pond let me know.