Pond Boss Forums INTRO New Forum Member Introduction Hello from new member in Southern Indiana!

I have been reading this forum for about 10 months and have found a large amount of useful information. We are in the process of having a pond built that should be between 2.5 and 3 acres.The pond should be done this spring. I plan on stocking FHM in the spring then BG and RES in the fall followed by LMB in the spring of 2016.Does this sound like a proper stocking plan? My goal is to provide good fishery for my two boys who are 10 and 14.I still ponder adding a few CC.I know as a kid I was either in the water,on the water,or dreaming about being near the water.
I have owned our property for about 24 years and have always wanted a pond.I feel like an expectant father.I am so anxious to catch our first batch of filet worthy fish. Thanks again for providing this forum.

Hey there tubguy, welcome to the forum. Always glad ta see another Hoosier. Your stocking plan sounds ok to me but I don't know much. If ya want heavy fighters you could include some HSB in 2016. Also extra forage such as SFS, BNM, Crawdads and Bullfrog tads would help. Provide spawning structure for the minnows and shiners. Also adding beneficial plants (Eel grass and Hybrid Lillies) will help sustain the minnows.

Thanks for the welcome Bob-o.I will check out the availability of SFS and BNM in my area.I have also seen mosquitofish available but I have seen good and bad reviews. Having a diverse and constant supply of minnows is something I would like to do. My pond will have about 5 natural coves that will go from shallow to about 8ft and I plan on building some habitats out of plastic skids and vinyl siding in a couple of the coves.I don't know anything about grasses and lillies but I will try to do some research.Thanks for the info.

Sounds like a plan to me. The trick in our area is to not give the BG too much of a headstart over the LMB. It's fairly common to find stunted bluegills in southern Indiana, so establishing the correct predator/prey ratio, as well as appropriate sizes, is important for future success.

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome to another Indiana pond owner. Having our first pond put in was definitely one of the best hings we ever did. This is a great site filled with great folks and lots of good info.

Welcome aboard!

Our pond is only a couple years old and we have enjoyed it to date immensely.

You are in for a treat.

Thanks for the warm welcome. Sprkplug, Will adjusting the ratio of BG to RES help much? I know as a kid we heavily fished our neighbors pond and usually caught RES in the 6-9" range and very few BG. The BG were usually a little larger.On the other hand the LMB were mostly stunted usually topping out about a skinny 18 inches. It was not uncommon to fish 2-3 hrs and catch 20-40 RES,only 2-3 BG and maybe 3-4 LMB.This pond was about 1/2 acre but was spring fed and had a depth according to the man that had it built of about 25ft deep.The pond was about 20 yrs old then.My goal is to have some nice panfish and a few decent LMB.I have also fished several ponds with abundant stunted BG and that is what I would like to try to avoid!

Classic. It's pretty tough for a 1/2 acre pond to toe the line and produce big LMB together with numbers of large BG. Shoot, it can be a tall order for a larger BOW also. Many times, a good BG pond will feature a number of stunted bass, while a good bass pond will have an abundance of smaller bluegills. RES just won't reproduce in the numbers needed to allow a LMB population to flourish...that's why they are usually added together with bluegills. That whole "balance" thing can be a real challenge.

I second Bob's suggestion on adding some HSB into the mix, as It's hard to find a downside with these fish in a pond setting. I would also suggest you consider supplemental feeding for your BG, (and HSB)..Huge dividends there.

I know that HSB are sterile but will still compete with LMB for food.How many HSB per acre do you recommend?Should I substitute HSB for CC in the pond formula? I do like catching a few CC but I hear HSB are aggressive and not as hook shy as CC.

I look at HSB as a bonus fish, not really being in direct competition with LMB, especially if you decide to feed. As such, I would probably keep their numbers low and not substitute them for the LMB. If you do feed, they will grow quickly and provide a little additional excitement.

In my opinion, CC are cheap and easily obtainable, and can be added down the road if you desire.

Hey TG, re-read your intro and been thinkin. Don't know what stage the digging is at but if possible you could have a separate small pond or actually two. Cecil does amazing things with large puddles. I have a 1/4 acre pond and have been fortunate enough with this sites help to grow some nice SMB, WE, HSB and YP. Real fun pond for the grandbrats. If I could I would have another small BOY just for forage.
How deep and do you plan to aerate and feed?
Where in In are ya?

Bob, I have considered adding a sediment pond to the shallow end which could also serve well as a forage pond.That might have to wait awhile due to the snowball effect of other pond wants and needs.My dam is mostly done except for the emergency overflow,rip-rap and final grading.They have been running a siphon to keep water level down.The plan is to drain down then remove some more dirt once the rain slows down.I do plan to aerate after stocking is complete.I am trying to decide whether to use a windmill (with intermittent aeration) or trench a line in from my shop which would be about 600ft to the pond.I would like to feed some but my work schedule makes it impossible to be home every day especially at the same time every day.I am located south of Columbus.

If "grid" power is available within 1,000' or so of the pond, then usually a 120/220 volt aeration system is less expensive and better for the pond long term than a windmill or solar powered system.

As for feeding, there are a number of battery powered directional feeders on the market. I believe all of the companies that make the feeders also have an optional solar panel that keeps the battery charged.

Even though my pond is within 75 yds of the house, I use a battery powered directional feeder at the pond to feed the fish.

I thought I would post an update. I stocked 12lbs of FHM and 5lbs of golden shiners on June 9th.I noticed fry from both on July 5th.I continue to have a spawn with numerous minnows in various sizes.
My original plan was to stock BG and RES this fall and LMB in next spring. Tony you mentioned that it was not a good idea to give BG too much of a head start over LMB to prevent stunting.I could stock RES this fall and wait for stocking BG until I stock LMB in the spring but I am concerned about the quality of BG available in the spring ( I had read on the forum the BG available in the spring were overwintered and sometimes ill or poor quality). I am trying not to over analyze things just trying to be cautious.

I think you're good with the BG this fall, and the LMB next spring.

I stocked 1200 2-3" BG and 800 2-3" RES on October 8th.I plan on stocking LMB and HSB in May or June.One of the fish farms that I have purchased from has LMB in three size classes, 3",3-4",or 6-9". If I understand correctly, stocking larger LMB lowers the recommended fish per acre.What size and how many LMB per acre are recommended.?I see figures anywhere from 75 to 200 LMB per acre.I plan on ladder stocking 50-100 HSB per acre for the next 2-4 years and restock as fish are harvested.Recently I have been reading some about stocking perch.Would perch survive the bass long enough to spawn?Would the perch be wiped out within 2-3 years?I have been feeding Purina Gamefish Chow for about 10 days and have bags of Optimal arriving tomorrow.Most of the fish that seem to be eating the Purina are golden shiners.Hopefully the BG will start hitting the Optimal once it arrives.

Back ground: "Indiana pond is between 2.5 and 3 acres. My goal is to provide good fishery for my two boys who are 10 and 14."
1. How many LMB to stock depends on your goals for the bass. Generally the fewer you stock those original stockers will ultimately grow to a ultimate larger average size 6-8 lbs before they die of old age, however the average size of the panfish will trend toward smaller size.
2. The opposite applies. The more the LMB you stock the top end of bass will generally be around 3-5 lbs and panfish will be larger. If you want more of the panfish even larger sizes the majority of the bass should be 10"-12" who put heavy predation on small panfish allowing remaining fish to grow fast and big. Feeding pellets amplifies the panfish with numbers and average larger sizes. Most would want the faster action fishery for kids of decent fish to use option 2 - more bass bigger fewer panfish.

With option 2 as the kids get out of school, the fishery if desired can then be skewed toward larger bass by using a heavy harvest of bass and increasing smaller panfish as forage.

In the north for general fishing with mixed sizes of all species it is commonly suggested to stock 100 LMB per ac. The major management activity of fish harvest becomes necessary to stay on the path for your planned goal comes when the first hatch of bass is 8" to 10" probably pond year 3 or 4. Then you have to harvest small bass or allow them to stay as predators to increase predation activity.

I would not stock YP in with LMB unless you want them after year 5 to be rare and primarily a bonus fish. Long term you may be better off focusing on proper management of the LMB-HSB-sunfishes.

Thanks Bill for taking time to address all my question!I really appreciate your prompt and thorough reply!!!