Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Can I stock before pond is full?

New member here. I just finished building a 4 acre pond in the central piedmont of VA. Can I stock this spring before the pond is full? Also any recommendations on a supplier for stocking? I need all the help I can get, I want to do this right. My pond is spring fed along with runoff of course.
I've been reading here for about 6 months, this site is full of great info, although most of it is over my head. Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Thanks Doug

Welcome corkman /Doug from Texas

New here myself. I would get the water checked for PH and hardness before I would stick anything. Someone that lives in your neck of the woods can prob fix you up with a fish supplier in the area. How much depth do you have now?


Pat

Corkman,
Welcome to Pond Boss...tons of good info here.

Corkman, welcome. I'd reiterate Pat's advice about checking the water. Alkalinity is particularly important. If your pond is in an acidic environment, you may need to add lime, for instance. That's what I will do when my pond in the pines is finished in east Texas.

My understanding is that you can stock bluegill and minnows when the lake is half or even one-third full. As water warms and pond fills they will spawn and fill it pretty quickly. The big thing is to stock a lot of prey, and to stock them first. Predators such as LMB and HSB should be stocked later and only when there are plenty of fish to eat.

Thanks. Do I check the PH just like you would in a pool? What reading am I looking for? Do I add lime like I would use on my fields or is there something else for ponds? How often do I need to check the PH?
Is there a book that explains all of this so I don't worry you guys to death? Pond Stocking for Dummies maybe?

A pool test is somewhat adequate and I've often used them. The best is to send a water sample to a lab for testing.

Like DD1says it's best to have a lab run the test. I took a sample to my fish supplier and he did it right then and there. Then he can make recommendations to what steps if any to take. Agricultural lime is what lime you probably would use if needed. The water test would reveal that.

Pat W

Hay there Corkman I would suggest u purchase these books from here on pond boss. A phone call will get it done. Raising Trophy Bass, Perfect Pond... Want One? Water Weeds and Algae. And continue to ask all the questions you have here. I do, and I have always got an answer, might not be the answer I want but that's cool.
Tracy

Yes, a simple pool test will suffice for now, and yes, you can use the agricultural lime to lime the pond.

Sending a water sample to be tested for alkalinity, pH, hardness among the other basic tests will give you a good baseline to start. Then a year later you can get another test done to see how the things that you did changed the water chemistry. In the meantime, a simple pool test kit can suffice. pH? 6.5-7.5 is ideal, 6.0-8.5 is the range. At either ends, you want to adjust the water to get it towards the ideal. Time of day matters when looking at pH if you don't have a lot of buffering capability in the pond. pH will be low in the morning and highest mid-day, then drop towards evening. That curve will flatten out when the buffering capability is increased. Less pH swings, less stress on the fish.

Awesome! You guys are great. I'm going to order the books. Thanks

Just ordered 2 year subscription, Stocker 1 donation and all three books. Thanks can't wait to start reading.

Doug,

Welcome to Pond Boss.

I doubt you will have to wait for your pond to be at full pool by the time it is warm enough to stock fish. I'm about 15 miles west of Winchester, VA, just off US 50. We can't be very far apart geographically or weather-wise.

My ponds are only filled with rain/snow, and the subsequent runoff. I haven't been below full-pool in several years. I cannot currently see the tops of my standpipe drains (part of that is due to the snow we've been getting every few days, but ...)

I see absolutely no reason why you can't begin a stocking program once the weather starts to warm.

Let us know what your goals are for the pond. Don't stock anything until you have a reasonable idea of what you want for this season and at least through seasons 5 to 7. It doesn't need to be more than four or five ideas -- like swimming, monstrous FILL IN THE BLANKS fish, peepers and bullfrog seranades, etc.

Before you are ready to stock I can send you some recommended sources via a Private Message once we know what you are looking for. There are several others here in our local area who are active on the forum, and who can also provide good advice. None of the suppliers are bad, but none are created equal. They all have their good and bad points.

Welcome,
Ken

Ken, Thanks for the reply. I'm sure the grandkids will want to do some swimming, but my main goal is to have a nice looking pond and some great fishing. I love to catch fish and eat fish of all kinds. I love to catch and eat bluegill and shell cracker. My son who will inherit this pond and plans on building over looking this pond, in the next few years,loves LMB. I guess that would be my number one goal is really nice LMB. I guess the thing I am most confused by is Crappie. I love to catch and eat them as well. I grew up fishing for Crappie with my dad and loved every minute of it,but most everything I have heard and read does not recommend stocking Crappie. I guess I'm not sure what my goals should be because I'm not sure what's possible. I'm willing to do the work and spend the money, as long as it doesn't break me, to make it the best it can be. I'm just not sure what that is.

Doug,

That is a very good start.

Largemouth bass, bluegill, and shellcracker (redear sunfish) are no problem.

The shellcracker/RES are just about neutral or transparent in ponds, yet they are extremely important in our area. They don't compete with the bass or bluegill, but they provide a very important service by helping keep the other pondfish free of white and yellow parasitic grubs. The grubs are transferred to ponds via water fowl poop. They become prolific by hosting on fish in the pond, reproducing, and creating crustaceons that the shell crackers thrive on. Not only are they a service, they grow big in our area, and are delicious.

As Bob Lusk, the Pond Boss himself, always tells people -- bluegill are the backbone of the fish feeding chain that grows bass. Bluegill feed the bass, while the bass keep the bluegill from over populating and stunting.

As for crappie -- I don't believe there are any experienced pond managers who would recommend adding them to a pond of less than a few tens of acres. Their spawning is unpredictable, and they usually spawn before the bluegill, redear, and bass. They can decimate the year-of-young in a pond, throwing everything out of balance in a pond of less than a few tens of acres.

Fall/winter/spring trout can be a real fun treat in this area. They are a lot of fun to hand feed for kids of all ages in the fall and early spring when we don't have ice. They are very acrobatic. In our area, golden trout, a mutant rainbow trout, kind of like an albino, is very easy to obtain. They are bright gold, so they are easy to spot in the water. Best of all, they are very inexpensive at an edible size normally supplied for pond stocking. Trout will usually die out during the summer in our area. I try to get mine out by June 1. They are a "put and take" fish.

One more option to think about are hybrid striped bass, or HSB. They are a cross between a white bass and a striped bass (rock fish to those who fish the Chesapeake area). They are incredible. They take feed pellets readily. They grow big very fast. They are reasonably easy to catch, and they fight like crazy. To the untrained eye, they look just like rockfish/stripers. They also taste just as good. They don't usually reproduce, so they are "put and take" just like the trout.

Back to the bass/bluegill. You can have a "balanced pond" where the bass and bluegill are both moderate in size. You can have a trophy bass or trophy bluegill pond, but usually not simultaneiously. Lots of bluegill and a few bass give you big bass. Lots of stunted bass give you a reasonalbe supply of really big bluegill.

Lots to think about. Depending on how far down you are, maybe we could meet for coffee some morning along the I-81 cooridor to discuss more of this.

Ken

Corkman,

I apologize for hijacking your thread for a quick question.



Ken,

Illinois DNR says I am too far north for RES so I stocked PS. Will PS provide a similar benefit as the RES in the pond ecosystem?

Bill

To the best of my knowledge, the answer is YES. Maybe Bill Cody or one of the other northern states true experts can chime in. But, I believe that pumpkinseeds have very similar habits to the redear sunfish.

Somewhere we have links to articles about this. I'll try to find them in the morning.

Ken

Depending on where you are in IL, RES may be ok. They occur in SD and MI and throughout NE.

PS grow smaller than RES [8" PS is considered large], have higher fecundity [can be difficult to manage populations], and also possess pharyngeal molars for crushing crustaceans, bivalves, etc. They will help manage snails/parasites like RES.

Sorry Corkman, welcome to the forum, and back to your thread! Count on Ken and CJBS - they are the VA area experts.

Bill D. PS are adaptable. If stocked with BG, they act like RES. When stocked with RES they act like BG.

Great info thanks. Do the HSB die out like the trout or will some of them survive? Do either the trout or HSB effect the goal of having trophy LMB?

Corkman, HSB will not die out like trout. They will survive just fine, the do get stressed when fished and handled rough in the dog days of summer. Since HSB usually take live in the open water area of ponds they do not directly compete with bass. The trout are excellent for the Bass as which ever ones you don`t catch out the bass will get a great protein boost when the water warms and trout slow down.

Unless you accidentally fillet them!

Edit:..and then accidentally fry those fillets nicely breaded and put them on a bun with a nice slice of pepperjack cheese, crisp lettuce, vidalia onion and tarter sauce!

mmmm... beats Captain D`s any day.

Oh no doubt, some will get accidently dropped in the grease.

At what point would I be able to stock trout and HSB? Year 1, 2 or later down the road? I understand they are "put and take" but how soon can I put? Is it common practice to feed these with automatic feeders? Do I need any different kind of structure for either of these fish?

Wow I didn't start very well. I just reread my original post where I stated I was in the central piedmont of VA, I am in the southern piedmont right on the NC/VA line. I'm not sure what I was thinking. Sorry Guys. It's kind of hard for you guys to give me good information when I'm giving you the wrong information.

Just an update. The pond is filling up nicely. 6'3" to full pool. I still need to get some lime in there, hopefully next week.