Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Growing larger fish in a small pond

I have recently purchased a house with a small pond on it, less than 1/4 acre. From what I can tell there is only catfish and bluegill in it. I have counted about 10 catfish about 1 to 2lbs in it at one time, and there was hundreds of bluegill but seems their numbers have diminished since the catfish have became more active this spring. My pond has no cover in it at all for fish so should I put a small tree in it for the bluegill to hide, and will this help them become larger? Also I have no fresh water coming into the pond so I've heard catfish will not spawn, is there anything I can do to make it better habitat for them to spawn, and grow bigger?

Hey Jason welcome to the PBF!

In a pond that size it may be better if you start all over. Your BG may be stunted and way to many. Your cats have no real food left at there size to eat. Either it's to small a fish and the cats can't gain any weight or they cant eat the BG you have as the BG are just a little to big for them. You really have to regualte that sort of thing in a smaller pond or it can get out of control fast! Some cover would help the BG from being eating so easy, but not sure if that's what you want if you have to many in there the last thing you want to do is give time somewhere to hide too!!

Could you and a buddy take a large net to the pond and see what you got in it? That may help you decide what to do.

Starting a feeding program for the BG wouldn't hurt either. It wouldn't take much with the right food.

Welcome Jason,

What do you want to get back from the pond?

If you just want a CC hole, then you might have the makings for it already. If you want trophy BG, well that might be a different path. I wouldn't worry to much about them spawning, buy little ones every year to resupply the ones you take out. You have better control that way.

You mentioned growing bigger CC, if you feed the BG as RC mentioned, you will feed them in two ways, more and bigger BG and they will eat the feed too. Putting a tree in there won't necessarily get the BG larger, it takes food to do that. It might help more young BG survive, but if there isn't food for them they will stunt.

Thanks guys,
I believe I'd rather have a good CC pond than BG. But wouldn't mind for both fish in the pond get a lil bigger. About how many CC should a pond my size have, to maintain healthy decent size CC?

On a diff note I thought about putting some largemouth in there, just for my 3YO to catch. If I do that about how many would you put in a pond that size, and while they survive with no fresh water?


Also its about 7ft deep, 10 to 12ft after alot of rain.
Thanks again

It's not about the numbers of fish, it's about the weight of fish in the pond. If you are not aerating and feeding, then a pond can reliably hold about 300# of fish per acre. If fed and aerated, a pond can hold at least double that amount per acre.

CC are cavity spawners. But, with the price of 10" catfish so reasonable, you probably shouldn't want them to reproduce in your pond. Utilize them as a catch and keep fish. Catch and keep 20 to eat this summer, stock 20 more in the Spring. Don't do a catch and release - I've found that CC get very hook wise quickly.

If you stock LMB, I would be positive to only stock same sex fish. LMB can eat themselves out of house and home in a pond, so reproducing LMB in a small pond will take more work on your part to keep them under control.

If it was my pond, I'd find someone with a seine, and seine out the pond, restocking with CC, Hybrid Bluegills nad maybe 5-10 HSB. Feed 'em and catch and keep for dinner, restocking every year. Look inot a small aeration system for the pond too.