Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Creating the food chain Where to start?

My pond just got full and Im doing an alum treatment (test came out great) in the next week. When will I know the water is ready for stocking? What should I put in first?

Water is probably ready for stocking as I write this...

What are the goals you have for for your pond? How large and deep is it? Do you plan to feed, aerate?

I have pics on the gallery. I would say its a 1/4-1/2 acre and 10-12 ft in the middle. I would like to have 5-10 pound black bass and perch for the kids to catch. I do understand there wont be many bass that size, but Id rather have quality than quantity. I would like for it be self sufficient, but will feed if I have to. Dont have the logistics to aerate.

Forage fish first, then next year add your predators. On bass support weight, remember the general theme is 50 lbs of bass per acre (factoring in the amount of forage fish needed to support the weight growth). So you are working on between 12.5 and 25. And that is young and old. 2 big bass would be around your weight-limit at your size goals.

If you were looking at only 2 and big ones, maybe consider just putting in 2 female florida large mouth if you can get someone who can sex them for you so you get no spawn. Just an idea.

For this year...fatheads and BG (I think you are south enough for decent CNBG growth). Let them develop and you should be good for next year.

Im sure the experts will chime in with more specifics for you.

Just for clarity, when you say "perch" do you mean Bluegills/Coppernose Bluegills/Redear/Hybrid Bluegills or Yellow Perch?

Up here "perch" mean a different fish than a "perch" in Texas.

Scott, I would bet long odds that he means Texas or Oklahoma perch which would be BG or CNBG. That would be the same "puhch" that are caught in the Southeast.

Dave,

That was one of the hardest things for me moving to Texas. All of a sudden people were talking fish I had no idea about and I never heard about people fishing for fish that I enjoyed. It took me years to realize that this crappie that everyone was talking about was the same sac-a-lait that I used to catch in the backwaters of Louisiana...

I dont know my species that well, but you would be right. The same perch I grew catching when I was a kid. I would like to have some of giant ones to fillet too.

You're asking an awful lot from a pond that is 1/4-1/2 acre in size...

I don't mean to burst your bubble, but I don't want you to have unrealistic expectation that are impossible or nearly impossible to obtain.

If you are willing to source and stock, F1 feed trained LMB, feed trained crappies, feed your pond heavily and use aeration, you may be able to get as close as possible to this goal. However, it would take a lot of work and management effort.

I know of one source of feed trained crappies.

Here's the deal. The most optimistic figure I have heard is 100 lbs of predators per surface acre. The figure for a healthy pond might be significantly less than that. Understand that mature bluegills and 8 inch LMB are also predators. Also realize that 1/4 to 1/2 acre can become less than 1/4 acre in the summer.

AS CJB alludes to, 3 or 4 feed trained females LMB and a bunch of hybrid bluegills might be more realistic. Anything more than that can give you a biomass nightmare.

For us Yankees, this is what we consider a Perch:



This is what we call a Bluegill

Thanks for the input guys. Im may just have 3-4 big LMB and "bluegills". I also live (and fish) very close to one of the most productive threadfin shad lakes in the state. I know they wouldn't make it through the winter, but I could supplement with them also. This is starting to sound like a lot of work lol.

IF you transfer some threadfin shad to your pond, make durn sure that there aren't any gizzard shad in with them unless your LMB are big.

Scott, you guys have yankeefied us enough for us to call the BG. However, nobody questions perch around here. Until PB, I had never seen a picture of a Yankee purch/perch/puhch.

Nice fish Scott !

All good fisheries take work. Feeding the BG and LMB will help a lot for a small pond.

Credit goes to Cecil for the fish. Those pictures were taken at his place.

Speaking of shad can someone locate the link that tries to show the difference between Threadfin & Gizzard, my dad is determined to do the same thing even though I said it was too much of a risk.

Thanks

I would stock as many fathead minnows as you can afford and also put some golden shiners in there for big bass. Can order from andersonminnows.com. Also stock around 500-1000 coppernose bluegill and 200-300 redear shellcrackers. Then i would wait till next spring and stock 75-100 2-6" largemouth bass.