Pond Boss Magazine
https://www.pondboss.com/images/userfiles/image/20130301193901_6_150by50orangewhyshouldsubscribejpeg.jpg
Advertisment
Newest Members
Shotgun01, Dan H, Stipker, LunkerHunt23, Jeanjules
18,451 Registered Users
Forum Statistics
Forums36
Topics40,902
Posts557,115
Members18,452
Most Online3,612
Jan 10th, 2023
Top Posters
esshup 28,419
ewest 21,475
Cecil Baird1 20,043
Bill Cody 15,112
Who's Online Now
3 members (esshup, Bobbss, teehjaeh57), 728 guests, and 251 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Joined: Feb 2018
Posts: 4
C
OP Offline
C
Joined: Feb 2018
Posts: 4
Just competed a 2.5 acre lake, 18 feet deep near dam, 10-12 throughout.....watershed lake that has ove 50 acres of shed feeding it — lots of fresh water every rain above and 1”.

Our end in mind is to have a fishing lake for bass and bluegill and to have recreational beach and swimming.

What are the best methods, size and number to stock for a LMB and BG fishing lake for years to come. Want to do it right the first time and am not impatient but rather want it done the BEST way to attain a great LMB and BG fishing lake.

Should I start this fall? Wait for the Spring? All suggestions welcome.

Thanks in advance guys!

Last edited by Chris Williams; 09/23/18 11:56 AM.
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,861
Likes: 298
A
Online Content
A
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,861
Likes: 298
No expert here, but in your neck of the wood I'd begin with fathead minnows, then add BG and pumpkinseed (they eat snails that carry parasites). Add bass next year after BG spawn.

Re watershed, you have a 20 to 1 ratio to pond surface. In Indiana, I suspect you only need half that, which means you will need really good ways to get rid of excess water without excessive erosion. Emergency spillway will get lots of use, hope you did a better job than I did with mine!

Last edited by anthropic; 09/23/18 12:42 PM.

7ac 2015 CNBG RES FHM 2016 TP FLMB 2017 NLMB GSH L 2018 TP & 70 HSB PK 2019 TP RBT 2020 TFS TP 25 HSB 250 F1,L,RBT -206 2021 TFS TP GSH L,-312 2022 GSH TP CR TFS RBT -234, 2023 BG TP TFS NLMB, -160




Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714
Likes: 281
R
RAH Offline
Lunker
Offline
Lunker
R
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714
Likes: 281
Getting the pond thick with FHM is a great start so that the young predators are well fed and grow fast. For me, this also gives time for emergent plants and water lilies to get going to give cover for fry. I like adding some RES along with other subordinate predators like BG or YP since they do not overpopulate and specialize in eating snails. BG are nippers, so some swimmers may not like these. My kids did not care about them, but some of their friends acted like they were piranhas and would not swim. The FHM in my newest pond are building very slowly, but the pond is a clay bowl and I am not feeding.

Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,112
Likes: 478
B
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Offline
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
B
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,112
Likes: 478
BG generally do not bite people swimmers as much when the BG are not overpopulated and natural food items are plentiful. If you are in mid to southern IN, redears will survive and do well, although they have only limited reproduction which can mean you can start with more of them than 50/acre. RES do a good job of controlling fish parasites from wading birds for good clean fish fillets. Yellow perch are an option but generally are not a main panfish with LMB present. YP do better long term with HSB and/or SMB as the primary predator rather than LMB. Slender YP are too easy for LMB to catch and swallow compared to BG. SMB are overpowered by bully LMB so SMB do not last longer than a few years in ponds when LMB are present.

For goals of general fishing, you can stock fingerling panfish and bass in fall when it helps to stock higher numbers of FHM to compensate for not having a summer period of FHM spawning that produces tens of thousands of FHM. The quality of the fishery long term will depend on your selective harvest methods to maintain proper balance of panfish and predators.

Read through some of the previous posts for numbers of BG:LMB to stock in new northern ponds. The ratio tends to be different compared to southern ponds and ones goals.
Use google to search for
Pond boss forum bluegill to bass stocking ratio northern ponds
You will find lots of stocking suggestions on this forum all based on ones goals for the pond. Do your homework and decide on goals before pulling the trigger.
Here is a starter recent thread.
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=495415

Last edited by Bill Cody; 09/23/18 06:43 PM.

aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine -
America's Journal of Pond Management
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714
Likes: 281
R
RAH Offline
Lunker
Offline
Lunker
R
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714
Likes: 281
Bill - My experience and recollection from reading, is that BG often bite moles and the nipples of male swimmers. I wonder, if like some birds, ponds with frequent wildlife swimmers present an opportunity for for fish to remove ticks from animals? They may mistakenly think they are targeting ticks when they bite swimmers. I would say that bites in our pond were not common, but my son always seemed to attract them, but did not really care even when they drew blood. He also chased down swimming northern water snakes when swimming to "play with them". No poisonous snakes in our neck of the woods, but that may change as things heat up. We have copperheads a bit south of us.

Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,112
Likes: 478
B
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Offline
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
B
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,112
Likes: 478
I think the sunfish types are biting swimmers for two main reasons: 1. the body hairs of swimmers look like midge larvae and aquatic worms common in every body of water; 2. the body moles on lighter skin look like snails which many sunfish select as food items. As natural food items become in short supply the fish get braver due to hunger and approach swimmers. Inactive or idle lounging swimmers will be bothered by fish more than active swimmers.

Last edited by Bill Cody; 09/24/18 07:45 AM.

aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine -
America's Journal of Pond Management
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 1,903
Likes: 109
Offline
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 1,903
Likes: 109
Our HBG are pretty aggressive towards swimmers. (I should say “floaters). If you are actually swimming and moving around they will seldom hit you, but if you grab a noodle and just float there for a few minutes, they’ll find you. If I wear a t-shirt and get away from the dock, they aren’t nearly as bad.


9 yr old pond, 1 ac, 15' deep.
RES, YP, GS, FHM (no longer), HBG (going away), SMB, and HSB (only one seen in 5 yrs) Restocked HSB (2020) Have seen one of these.
I think that's about all I should put in my little pond.
Otter attack in 2023
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714
Likes: 281
R
RAH Offline
Lunker
Offline
Lunker
R
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714
Likes: 281
In my case, we may have trained the BG to investigate swimmers. I feed from the dock intermittently by hand. My dogs often accompany me to the pond and the oldest male German Shepherd gets upset when I feed the fish and barks viciously and finally jumps off the dock and tries to eat the fish food off the water surface to keep the fish from getting it (does not work, but I need to get a video). When the BG hear the barking, they gather, even before any food is provided, and they know to swim with the dog to get their share once he jumps in. I suppose, they associate the commotion with feeding time which might include human swimmers.

Last edited by RAH; 09/25/18 08:10 AM.
Joined: Feb 2018
Posts: 4
C
OP Offline
C
Joined: Feb 2018
Posts: 4
Here is where I netted out on my stocking
800 BG
400 LMB
250 RES
100 HBG
Like 80 pounds of FHM

Hope to be catching nice fish in Summer of 2020

Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 231
Likes: 10
N
Offline
N
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 231
Likes: 10
Seems high on the bass. I thought I read on hear you want a 1 to 20 ratio of bass to bluegill. But I could be wrong. Give the FHM and BG a year head start before you put bass in.


61 acre water shed lake. bass, channel cat, black crappie, wiper, walleye, redear sunfish, blue catfish and bluegill. To many bullhead and common carp
http://www.pondboss.com/news/videos/why-subscribe-to-pond-boss

Link Copied to Clipboard
Today's Birthdays
cro, HC1968
Recent Posts
Relative weight charts in Excel ? Calculations?
by esshup - 03/29/24 01:06 AM
pond experience needed
by esshup - 03/29/24 12:45 AM
Alum vs Bentonite/Lathanum for Phosphorus Removal?
by FishinRod - 03/28/24 08:28 PM
New pond middle TN: establishing food chain?
by Bill Cody - 03/28/24 07:57 PM
Happy Birthday Bob Lusk!!
by FireIsHot - 03/28/24 07:33 PM
Working on a .5acre disaster, I mean pond.
by PRCS - 03/28/24 06:39 PM
Fungus infection on fish
by nvcdl - 03/28/24 06:07 PM
Can anyone ID these minnows?
by Dylanfrely - 03/28/24 05:43 PM
1 year after stocking question
by esshup - 03/28/24 04:48 PM
Yellow Perch Spawn 2024
by H20fwler - 03/28/24 04:29 PM
New 2 acre pond stocking plan
by LANGSTER - 03/28/24 03:49 PM
Paper-shell crayfish and Japanese snails
by esshup - 03/28/24 10:39 AM
Newly Uploaded Images
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
by Tbar, December 10
Deer at Theo's 2023
Deer at Theo's 2023
by Theo Gallus, November 13
Minnow identification
Minnow identification
by Mike Troyer, October 6
Sharing the Food
Sharing the Food
by FishinRod, September 9
Nice BGxRES
Nice BGxRES
by Theo Gallus, July 28
Snake Identification
Snake Identification
by Rangersedge, July 12

� 2014 POND BOSS INC. all rights reserved USA and Worldwide

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5