Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose New 3/4 Acre Pond

I'm in northern Ohio. Any feedback anyone can offer is most appreciated. Below is the stocking recommendation of a local fish hatchery for a .75 acre pond. It's their "Midwestern Accelerated Package" for this size body of water. Also, below is a pic of the new pond filling up.





There are only a couple of things I would like to change in the stocking package however, and I'm wondering if they would work. The family LOVES eating yellow perch, so my thought was to stock 75 of them instead of the two types of catfish the hatchery recommends. It seems reasonable to me as I'm eliminating one predator in favor of another.

Also, I'm thinking I should refrain from stocking the GC unless I see a real need to control the weeds. I severely damaged our old pond's habitat and fishery by over stocking GC some 22 years ago, and they refuse to die. I saw four of them last weekend.

Last, our new pond is about 65% full. Would it be OK to stock this package now? The forecast is for a wetter than normal spring here due to La Niña.

Thank you!

If it was my pond, and you wanted more of a balanced fishery, I would stock the FHM and GSH this Spring, then after they've had time to propegate even more during the summer, I'd stock 750 of the BG, 250 of the RES, 50 LMB, 75 HSB and 200-250 YP. All in the size that is listed. YP 5"-7". The Tadpoles will become dinner quickly. Without a lot of vegetation for them to hide in, they are easy targets. If you don't care about the cats, then that biomass can be transferred to other fish. The HBG will grow quicker than regular BG for the first few years, but if this is the pond that the feeder is going on, then the BG should be 8"-10" in 2013 if stocked at 4"-6" (providing they are closer to 6" than 4"). The HSB will do well on pellets too.

Esshup, thanks again! Actually the feeder was to be used for the old pond to feed the BG there. All my fish there are underweight due to the destruction of habitat from the GC and my misguided introduction of white crappie. I can afford only one feeder at this time (my wife is mad enough as it is!).

So you think I ought to wait until fall to stock the predator fish? The numbers of BG and HSB you recommend are so much higher than the package the hatchery suggests! But, I noticed you cut down on the numbers of LMB a bit. Anyway, it sounds like a good plan. As always, thank you!

Mr.Sandman,

IMHO that stocking list has far too many species and sounds like someone just wants to sell you a lot of fish. I agree with Scott, I would stock the fatheads and let them reproduce first, and then add other fish in the fall or the following spring. It's no fun waiting but patience produces some outstanding fisheries in ponds.

I'm assuming your water is murky like that due to being just filled? Hopefully it's not a long term thing.

Is that a cut out from Jones? Looks like it's from their catalog. See if they'll work with you on those stocking numbers and species.

I'm not an expert but I agree it looks like you are being sold a hodge podge of fish. My pond is between 3/4 & 1 acre depending on the water and drought conditions and you are just slightly above my latitude. I would get some good kinds of submerged water plants you want and get them started while the pond is new. Perhaps even some bog plants. My experience is bull frogs and every other kind of frog will come once you have the plants and the plants will provide shelter for the fish along with oxygenating the water. If you do go with CC, I had both regular and albino and wondered why I had the regular CC if I wanted to see my channel cats. The albino's show up very nicely. I, like you, love the taste of yellow perch but everything I have ever read says they should be in large bodies of water so I never attempted to stock them. I had a friend that stocked HBG and said he wouldn't do it again. They don't reproduce well for bass feed, unless you are wanting to get large BG fast. No way do you want to put GC-White Amur in a new pond. If the time comes you need them I would put only 6 in at a time and then wait for some time to see the results before adding more. I like the idea of putting both FHM & GSH in the pond. The FHM will be eaten and eliminated but the GSH may go on for years providing feed for your predators. I personally do want snails and so I don't stock RES, but others are afraid of diseases carried by snails.

Cecil, Omaha and John Monroe, great advice! Thank you all. I thought too that the list from Jones Hatchery was a bit of overkill. I agree that don't need the tadpoles. Once I get some weeds, the bullfrogs from the old pond, which is just a hop away, will easily migrate to this one.

If anyone looks up my old posts, they'll see how much damage the GC have caused in the old pond. There is no way I'm going to stock them in the new pond unless the weeds are out of control, and then, only 6 would go in.

I really want to try to find a way to stock YP. I have had some in the old pond ever since I bought the place 26 years ago. They are all fat and healthy, but their numbers have always remained few. I usually feel too guilty keeping any for the table.

I don't wish to add CC in the new pond. They too have grown huge in the old pond, but I prefer not to be skinning and filleting them. If their biomass could somehow be replaced by (tastier, in my opinion) YP... well, I'm hell bent on stocking them. I know, the state DNR advises against them in small ponds, but what the hay.

I don't mind the snails either. So, I may not get the RES. So what if my fish carry a few harmless parasites? I've never fished a pond where the fish were totally free from them.

I can also do without the HBG. As Esshup suggested to me before, if I get BG in the 4-7" size, it takes away any growth advantage of the hybrids.

I'm totally on the fence about stocking HSB. People swear by them however. If anyone wishes to voice a pro or con on HSB then I'm most appreciative!

In any event, I will be reducing the number of species on the Jones' list.

Cecil, the murkiness of the water has me worried too. I am hoping that it is because the pond was dug just last summer and the grass seed has only now started to germinate. The banks, at the time of the photo, were completely mud. One of the reasons I had the pond constructed on high ground (with almost no runoff or watershed) was to have much clearer and more attractive water than the stream-fed old pond which is murky from either mud or phytoplankton most of the year.

Thank you, all!

A fellow northern Ohioan here, with lots of experience with yellow perch. Cecil calls me Dr Perca (perch). You can definately do YP and do it in a big way in your 0.75 ac pond. Here is a plan. Stock FHM soon. There are other places reasonably close to you to get FHM and YP depending on your location. One way that has worked well for us is FHM now and some YP that are both 2"-4" and next size larger (4"-6" or some 6"-8"). If you add YP now,, add a few more FHM 12-15lbs instead of 10 lbs. 30 lb is only needed if you are feeding LMB right away and is not the best way to do it IMO. Have spawning structure available for the FHM when they go in!. Broken concrete, tile, broken cement block, cedar shakes or boards tethered to shore, etc. see spawning habitat for FHM on the forum here.

For this early YP stocking plan in your 3/4ac, plan on it to occur once or twice, some now (125-200)and some later (100-200 any size) added with the other predators this fall or next spring. This gives you several year classes early; important to provide a strong YP fishery. The smaller YP (2"-6") will not eat that many baby FHM and will do real well on the new summer insect community developing in the pond. Stocking 4"-6" YP now will result in 6"-8.5" YP this fall for a few harvestable (20-30) if wanted. Then YP&FHM will spawn next spring and provide small YP for predators.

If you want RES, do it now with either 2"-4" or the 4"-6" as suggested by Jones (their 150 are ok or make it 200). RES population will always lag behind the others and getting them established first is a good idea. If stocked now they could also have limitred spawn next spring providing extra small forage later (late June) when new youngster YP are 1.5"-2". FHM will still be very plentifull then too.

Consider SMB (80-100/acre) instead of LMB. They will work in your pond.
See these 5 articles:
http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/growing-smallmouth.html

If you don't like SMB AFTER 4-5yrs and HBG or YP are too abundant then just stock several LMB in the early spring before spawning season (May in Ohio) a few LMB (5-10) at 8"-13" from your other pond and in 4-6 yrs the LMB will dominate your new pond. It never fails. LMB also prefer to eat YP instead of BG, which is why you don't see many YP in your old pond. LMB are not the best thing in a YP pond. Other predators work better with YP if weeds are minimal. With the SMB you can add a few HSB (16-30) when you stock the SMB. HSB will be your bonus fish. YOU can also add some HBG or BG in this fall with the bass (LMB(?), SMB &/or HSB). HBG & RES do not spawn very much compared to BG so they usually do not become overabundant in a SMB -YP pond. NOTE that Smallies are not a very good predator on BG so if you want BG either use just males or use LMB as the predator.

Another option for BG in this new pond is to just put in some male BG every year from the old pond. Just males will get large and won't spawn. Cecil (CB1), B.Condello and I have written in PBoss magazine about this option (see back issues). I suggest the HBG or BG not until fall. If it were my pond I would not add BG until you see a real need after the pond is 3-5yrs old and the pond is more established with the first stockings. OR it is important to stock BG if you use LMB. When ever you add BG they will eventually become a very common panfish in this pond and tend to crowd out the RES & YP; esp true if LMB are in the pond.

Hopefully by fall the water will have cleared quite a bit during dry spells and some grassed watershed is established allowing clay and sediment to settle.. Then you can see what is happening and decide on the other predators. PM me for a phone number or more detailed info about pond mgmt and fish sources for northern OH.

PS I consider GSH as bait stealers esp when fishing live bait for YP, BG, RES. GSH can be a nuisance at times but they are also a good foragae species - it all depends.

Pond Boss Magazine Mar-Apr, May-Jun, Jul- Aug: 2006. BEHEMOTH BLUEGILLS IN SMALL PONDS. In Parts I,II,III. Cody, Condello and Baird provide the necessary details of how to accurately sex bluegills to produce trophies in small waters.
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=92477#Post92477

POSTSCRIPT: It is illegal in OH to sell bullfrogs and their tadpoles due to DNR considers them a harvestable wildlife and not for aquaculture. Bfrog tadpoles are not on the Ohio Aquaculure class A nor B species lists for aquaculture species to raise and sell. Evidently Jones is not aware of this new law or they have found a loophole in the law?

Cecil, I see that you're SW of Toledo, the same distance as I am SW of Cleveland. You (along with Esshup) have given me a whole lot to chew on, and I'm very grateful.

I'm going to take your advice and make some sort of a chart like the one from Jones. My idea is this: instead of the chart having columns for only species, length, and quantity, I will add a column for "time to stock." That should summarize all the advice into that chart that even I can follow. Whaddaya think?

My neighbor and I are working now on cutting up 4' sections of plastic drain pipes held down with cement blocks. It should provide nice shelters with roofs for FHM's to spawn under. I'll put a photo up as soon as we have one put together.

Thanks so much!

PS. Here is a photo from last summer of some habitat we already placed in the new pond. If I decide to go with SMB, they make enjoy it.

I see albino catfish on the list. I was considering those as a novelty to place in my "soon to be mine" pond. Anyone have the lowdown on albino catfish? I would think because of their color they could be more prone to be eaten when they are small? I think it might be kind of cool to have kids and visitors catch something that they've never seen before. Any thoughts on the "goth catfish"?

When I stock them into ponds, I'll buy the typical sized fish and then either aquarium raise them or backyard goldfish pond raise them until they hit the 14" mark at which point nothing but an extremely large bass or Esox species is gonna down them.

They are often quite visible, especially if you feed and have moderately clear water. Seeing a 30" albino channel catfish cruise by can get your attention! As they are channel catfish, although they are albino, they act just like any normal colored CC would.

Ok thanks CJBS

Even regular CC fry will be eaten because they tend to ball up when born. I put in my pond 4 trash cans with rocks built half way up at the entrance so the CC fry could be protected at berth but I took them out later on because I didn't want a lot of CC.

For my money, I'd rather put the biomass of catfish into yellow perch instead. They're easy to fillet, they taste great, and already I have a number of big old CC in the old pond.

Sandman - keep us advised how the stocking and growth of fish progresses. We are always interested to learn how stocking combinations playout.