Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose new member, new pond, please help

Hi guys/gals, I've been creeping around here for a while, trying to learn a little here and there, but its time to get some serious advice and this seems to be the place to get it. My new 3/4 acre pond will be finished in a couple of days. Fact is - I don't know where to start!! Its just a big dirt hole right now, no water, no structure, nothing. Blank sheet, so fire away....
Questions are... how long before adding fish? Add minnows first, then wait a year or two? This needs to support my kids fishing habit, as well as my fish eating habit, LOL. I would like to eventually end up with BG,RES,LB, & CC maybe. I would like to grow some big fish, but I can feed regularly if needed. Something fun to catch and good to eat. I'm not married to any one idea right now, but I need help getting a solid base started for the future.
Oh yeah, I'm a patient guy, I know this will take time. Located in Central KY. THANKS in advance......

Hey, KW. Just built a pond in pine country east Texas myself, beginning to fill (way too slowly for my tastes!).

I'm no expert, that's for sure, but I do have a few suggestions based on my experience. When the real experts show up, I'm sure they will modify these ideas, but just something to get you thinking...

1) Sample the water going into the pond, if at all possible. What is alkalinity? How about pH? Any issues with gases or dissolved materials?

Here in pine country I quickly discovered that the soil & water is quite acidic, so I've placed agricultural lime on the pond bottom, 2 plus tons per acre. If not, the water would be too acidic for good plankton growth, sharply limiting fertility & biomass. Check this out first!

2) Watch that you don't have too much shallow (under three or four feet deep) pond bottom. Weeds love the shallows, so you may have a long and costly fight to control them if you don't heed this advice.

3) Put fish-holding structure (bottom features) and cover (submerged trees, rocks, etc) in the pond. What do the bluegills like when they spawn? When they are little? When they are mid-size? When they get big? How about bass? Be sure to consider fishability and depth when you do these things, a sunken tree in 18 feet of water is far less attractive than a sunken tree leaning against a point that runs from 3 feet deep to 12 feet.

4) Always stock intentionally, paying attention to numbers, weather conditions, and water conditions. I can't stock yet because it's too hot and DO is too low, but that should change fairly soon. I'll try to stock FHM first so they can spawn, then bluegills, then (months later) LMB to feed on the FHM and BG.

5) Think carefully about your goals. If you like big BG, you may want a large number of small LMB to keep down overall BG populations. If you are shooting for big LMB, stock fewer in relation to the BG (maybe 30 - 40 BG to 1 LMB).

6) Feed the BG. Very important!

7) Enjoy!

KY, start doing rain dances.

I would look into the CC very carefully before stocking. They are veracious predators and compete with LMB for forage.

What about the minnows? What kind? Finish depth of pond will be around 15 feet, start with minnows once we get 5-6' deep? Also, I don't want the CC to destroy everything else, maybe just a few? What do you guys think?

The recommended minnows for new ponds are generally fatheads. They feed a lot of up and coming fish but can't handle heavy predation. That's OK. They will have done their job.

I'll stop there. I don't know your area.

Probably more important than how full your pond, is if it has a good algae bloom started. The food chain needs to start or any fish you put in are not going to have anything to eat. If you get a nice green tint to the water indicating an algae bloom, then FHM will probably do fine.

I stocked FHM, BG, and some RES in the very early spring with the pond half full. Spring is when we usually get a lot of rain so I was satisfied the pond would fill before the next winter. Then LMB and CC that fall.

One important thing. If you stock FHM earlier than other forage fish, make double certain there are no other species mixed in. There are a number of horror stories here on PBF about ponds that the owners thought were "clean" only to find out they had an explosion of trash fish. For example, lets say you put in FHM and are going to let the pond go a whole year before stocking other fish. But unbeknownst to you there were a few BH or GSF mixed in that no one noticed. The BH and/or GSF having a whole pond to themselves without competition can reproduce and have your pond half filled with unwanted species by the time you get around to stocking the fish you want.

The moral of the story is, if you are going to stock a certain fish early, be double..... no triple sure there are no hitch hikers. While still important to do the same due diligence if you were stocking all the fish at the same time, it is vastly more important if stocking some fish early where the unwanted species has a pond with absolutely no competition to its reproduction.

I understand the point and it's a very good one, I'm just not sure how to do that other than use a reputable supplier, unless you can sort though them by hand? .... Also, I'm a newbie here and am lost on the BH, GSF abbreviations. Can someone help on this? Lol. And I do appreciate all the info!!!! Thanks a bunch!!!!! Is there a way to jump start algae growth without overdoing it? Also should there b any structure specifically for minnows?

Click on the "Main Forum List", then click on "Common Pond Q&A". I think the second listing is "Common Acronyms". A must to get anything out of PBF.

Here is a link to it, but you may want to go through the menu's so you know how to get there by yourself.

Common Acronyms

Example: BG = bluegill, GSF = green sunfish, LMB = large mouth bass, CNBG = coppernose bluegill, YP = yellow perch, etc.