Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose building new pond, size req's for HSB

hello, I'm new to the site. I'm building a new pond in boston , ny. about 20 miles south of buffalo, planning on 3/4 - 2 acres depending on cost. we get some pretty tough winters, lots of snow. I would love to stock hybrid striped bass eventually and need some input. 1) do you think they would survive up here in western new York winters ? 2) how deep would the pond need to be for HSB and would 3/4 acre be enough ? 3) does anyone know any fisheries around western new York that carry hybrid striped bass ? I appreciate anyones help. thanks.

Welcome to Pond Boss. 3/4 acre should be enough for hybrid stripers.

I have a 2/3 of an acre pond in Nebraska and the HSB did fine there for years. As long as you don't aerate in the winter I'm guessing HSB would survive if you have water deeper than 10'. Keep in mind I'm no expert on the subject though and just an average pondbosser. If you don't mind growing some HSB out from 1.5" size, I'd call Keo Fish Farms and have them shipped. They will most likely cost around 30 cents per fish after shipping costs. And they are wonderful to work with. Here's my experience from last week....

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=492417#Post492417

Beautiful area for a pond - I've been to Buffalo a few times and did some work in Arcade at the feed mill. There's some good trout fishing up there!

HSB will survive just fine so long as your pond has decent depth and good water quality. What other fish are you interested in stocking?

The deeper the better. HSB are cold tolerant but they have to have water with good DO during ice-over. It would be best if you keep it open with aeration as long as possible during winter.

great, thanks everyone for the info and videos and advice. so I will try and go 12 feet deep and a minimum of 3/4 acre, hopefully 2 acres.

not sure what else to stock, just know I want hybrid striped bass. I read somewhere to put bluegill in for the HSB to eat, so maybe some of them, and some yellow perch.

Please REconsider bluegill if your sole goal is to give the HSB something to eat. They cannot control the bluegill population and the size of their mouth will not allow them to eat the larger sized bluegill If HSB are the main predator you need to build a forage base that relies mainly on more 'streamlined' shaped minnows, shiners (golden, common, spotfin, etc), crayfish, shrimp, and consider yellow perch.

If you have to have bluegill then at least consider hybrid bluegill AND another predator that can handle the BG numbers

IMO you will be better served for your climate to have the pond deeper as in 16-20ft deep over 15%-20% of the surface area and sacrifice size for a smaller area than your ideal 1.5 to 2 ac. Water depth is your friend in harsh winters. HSB are not well suited with BG as forage. Consider YP and GSH and maybe trout fall, winter and spring but plan on them not surviving July-Aug. With feeding 8" trout in Sept could be 16" by June.

beautiful, I appreciate everyones input. i'll go deeper with the pond if possible, i'll scrap the bluegill and go with yellow perch, shiners as forage fish, along with crayfish. I'm glad I found this site to get all this great advice. thanks again.

If you go with crawdads for forage, make sure you plan on plenty of rip-rack along some of the banks or they may only last a couple of years as they will be easy prey without the cover of the rocks. I would recommend spreading 3 to 12" rock a foot above full pool and down as far as 2 or 3 feet below. I placed old carpet pieces down first (carpet fuzz side down - if it matters?), then put the rock on top to help keep the rocks from sinking into the mud once the pond filled up.

Another crawdad tip: Transplant them (the females in particular) early in the season when they are carrying eggs. This will boost your populations. They only reproduce once a year around here and it would be around March. You'll have to check with your local conservation department on the availability and breeding habits of your local species.

Here's a couple pics to help describe the rock piles/carpet...