Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Bonus predator?

I'd first address the fact a somewhat shallow BOW in WI runs a high risk of winterkill without aeration. I'd focus on resolving that along side your stocking strategy.

What species do you want featured in your fishery? You're limited due to the size, stocking a prolific Lepomis species like BG will represent a significant biomass and tie up a lot of carrying capacity.

If you were my client, I'd recommend a SMB/YP/HBG/GSH fishery, with a few bonus WE or HSB added for fun. Employ feeding program to help boost growth of SMB, YP, HBG and HSB and will improve recruitment of GSH to feed those species. I'd recommend a different shiner species but they are not commercially available yet.

If you were my client, this would be the stocking plan:

Spring 2016

250-500 Papershell crayfish
100-200 Adult GSH [3-4"+]
1-5 G small/medium FHM [small/med are young or females]
200-400 HBG
200 feed trained YP

Fall 2016

Install aeration system
25-35 feed trained SMB
5-10 WE

Summer 2017

5-10 HSB

You can supplementally, or "ladder stock" additional HSB and WE as your harvest/mortality/fish performance dictate annually.

SMB prefer rocky substrate in which to spawn, and it helps improve recruitment, but I have SMB that successfully spawn on beds made on clay bottom in my pond. You may have recruitment even without SMB beds or rocky areas. If you're not seeing recruitment, you can always supplementally stock down the line to keep your populations at the level you want.

If you want to stock a Tiger, Muskie, or NP for fun and the occasional trophy catch, you could do that. Be aware, BG and PS are highly fecund and may present a population management issue down the road due to lack of wide gape predators - but I agree with Rex I'd go PS way before BG.

My first pond is probably a bit under 1/4 ac. I stocked it 9 yr ago with the usual LMB, BG, CC, and also RES. I wanted the CC to spawn, and I put things in the pond to encourage spawning. It now has a few CC that must by this year's and last year's, or possibly 1 yr older. I still have about 10 of the original 50 CC I stocked. The CC come up readily for hand feeding of floating pellets and I've never seen more than half a dozen of the smaller CC. The pond appears to have all the LMB it can handle; at least one looks like it would go 4 lb. During the summer it was teaming with SF from thumbnail size on up. The only fish I ever took out of the pond was one CC, but blue heron have taken plenty.

I phoned WI DNR today to clarify whether chain pickerel or any pickerel can be stocked in private ponds in WI. I was referred to Kurt Welke, 608-273-5946, who I was told is the authority on stocking in WI. When I asked Kurt if pickerel, and particularly chain pickerel can be stocked in private ponds in WI, he first said: “Sure, any pike can be stocked in WI.” I said I was asking about pickerel, not pike, and chain pickerel in particular, and then we got down to specifics. He said he had never heard of chain pickerel, and he'd been in his job for over 20 yr. He thought the name must be some sort of slang or possible the fish is a cross. He asked for the Latin name, which I gave him. The bottom line was that, yes, there is a species known as chain pickerel, they are not native to WI and therefore can't be stocked, but grass pickerel are native and they can be stocked. He couldn't see any reason why anyone would want to stock grass pickerel, and he didn't know of anyone who raised them. During our fairly long conversation, he talked about how careful WI is to avoid the introduction of diseases or parasites to WI waters, which I interpreted as meaning you'd have a tough time bringing fish from another State into WI. Kurt said he would e-mail me additional info.

Something that might be of interest: NP and grass pickerel have crossed naturally in Nebraska ponds. The following is a link to literature on the cross.
digitalcommons.unl.edu/nebgamestaff

I was shocked to see the little WE on the line myself. Any predation on small LMB that we would get from the WE was going to be a bonus for us. We added the WE mostly in the hope that some of them would survive to edible size. We planned on stocking them about every 4 years to help maintain the population. The most effective control for the LMB has been selective harvest from angling.

I've got to see this fishery sometime, Nebucks. Drop me a line - we should connect - where in NE are you?