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#501087 01/22/19 10:51 PM
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Hi All,

First time posting here, but have read over other threads to try learn as much as possible. I'm purchasing a property with a small 1/10 acre pond that appears to have no fish in it currently. I'd like to have BG, LMB, and some YP. I've read that YP and LMB don't do so well together, however I don't care so much about catching tons of perch I'd just like to have a few in there to catch occasionally. I was planning on getting a forage base of FHM and GSH going this spring and adding plenty of cover/ spawning habitat. I do plan on supplemental feeding and adding aeration. Any thoughts or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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Welcome Freg! sounds like reasonable expectations to me.
If you get FHM and GSH started off right, I think you'd be good to go with YP, LMB and BG in the fall.
I need to back up here and say I would recommend you do some seining, trapping, etc, to make sure that pond is void of fish before you pull the trigger on stocking-just to make sure, first.

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Where can you get FHM this time of year?

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For areas with current ice cover conditions it is hard to find stocker fathead minnows. One option to try is check with some local angler or fishing bait shops. Sometimes they have FHM for anglers if you don't want over a pound or two of FHM. It might be best to stay in contact with the shop owner and get the minnows soon after they arrive from Arkansas. Some shops will order extra minnows for you to arrive with their next shipment.

Arkansas Bait - Minnow Farms.
Anderson Minnow Farm is set up to UPS FedEx ship fish.
Saul Minnow farm
Ingle Minnow Farm
War Eagle Minnow Farm

Last edited by Bill Cody; 01/23/19 10:44 AM.

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I have no experience with those Bill listed except Anderson Minnow farms. I've dealt with them on several occasions and am quite pleased in their delivery methods. My experiences with them has been very good.

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Would there be any problem stocking the fingerling BG and YP (approx 30) at the same time as the FHM and GSH? I was planning on waiting till the following year on the LMB but would like to get the YP growing to avoid predation. Once upon a time I worked for a company that did pond stocking and we would often stock BG, FHM,and GSH at the same time, however the ponds were usually significantly larger than 1/10 acre.

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There are several options for the BG & YP with minnows in a 0.1ac pond. A. Add them together in spring, B. Add minnows in spring fingerling BG-YP in fall. C. Add minnows spring with YP and BG in fall. D. Add minnows & YP in spring and BG and LMB in fall.

The questions I have before IMO for stocking is do you plan to feed the fish pellets? What are the main goals for stocking this whole combination of fish? Since you like SMB maybe forgo using BG and just stock minnows, YP, SMB or minnows, YP, HSB. Either combo could work in 0.1 ac. If those fish are fed pellets you could raise some impressive quality fish in just 0.1 ac.

Last edited by Bill Cody; 01/23/19 04:54 PM.

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I do plan on pellet feeding the fish. I would love to do SMB, however I'm not confident of how they would do. I haven't measured the depth yet but I'm guessing its probably only around 6 ft deep and afraid that won't be sufficient. It is however on a wooded north-facing slope so hopefully that will keep it from getting too hot in the heat of summer. My thought is the perch may or may not make it, but at least I'd still have a good LMB/ BG pond. My objective is to have a variety of species and growing them to healthy relative weights. I don't plan on eating many of the fish but realize I'll probably have to cull bass to keep things balanced. If you think SMB would work in this pond, how would RES do in with YP and SMB?

Last edited by Freg; 01/23/19 05:16 PM.
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Okay. Welcome to the PB Forum. IMO start with minnows & pellet trained, feeding YP (4"-6") in spring, then by fall you will have 7"-9" YP. They grow fast on good quality pellets. Those YP will spawn the next spring to help feed any predators. I would not add fingerling(2"-4") YP in Mar, Apr, May because these would be last years 'runt' or mostly male YP. In spring You want the next size larger 4"-6" ones that are mostly faster growing females. I've seen some 5"-6" YP in Spring to have eggs.

If you want RES then you could also add some as RES fingerlings (1.5"-3") in spring with the YP and minnows. These RES will help control snail numbers. Spring Mar-Apr 4"-6" YP will be mostly females from the previous spring spawn. These females will grow fast on pellets or natural foods. I find these YP eating pellets will not prey heavily on minnows when they are receiving a regular diet of 'welfare' pellets. This will allow the minnows to populate to provide an abundant starter food base for any fingerling stocked predators. In fall 2019 you could add the SMB or some HSB. I doubt you will locate and fingerling SMB is spring because they are always in short supply and sold out in fall. HSB are available all seasons and will not reproduce so you have good and better control of the number of predators; too many remove some, too few add some. SMB could easily reproduce in your 0.1 ac pond if it has a firm bottom or pebble area the size of a king size bed.

I find the SMB are tolerant of warm water (92F). In my experience the old, adult big YP(11"-14") are more intolerant of warm water compared to SMB. However SMB poorly control BG reproduction, but could manage weak spawns from some RES and the YP.

If you stock SMB-YP, your shallow mini-pond in TN would be a good member experiment test for how well these species will thrive in TN ponds. I think in your situation, some of the SMB will learn to eat pellets. You can then easily monitor their progress at feeding time. The good thing of starting with YP-SMB, or HSB is this fishery, if it does not succeed, can easily be converted to a BG-LMB fishery by just adding some BG & LMB; both will then quickly dominate and crowd out the SMB-YP.

Keep us updated on your pond progress. It will be an interesting learning experience.

Last edited by Bill Cody; 01/23/19 07:40 PM.

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Thanks for all of the information, this sounds like the stocking plan I'll likely go with. Do you happen to know of anyone that supplies YP and SMB within a few hours of East TN?

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Not familiar with south central fish farms. You or someone in your area will be responsible for this home work. Other members may provide help on this. A google search might show fish farms in your area. If you are really serious about YP and or SMB you may have to do some driving several hours one way to get them. Many PB members have traveled hours to get special fish as either special species or sizes. It could be a weekend road trip. About all fish farms will package fish for 5-8 hours of travel especially in cool air temps. Since your pond is small you won't need to haul very many fish. All should fit in a few boxes / oxygented bags for travel.

Last edited by Bill Cody; 01/24/19 09:17 PM.

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Bill, I'm going to attempt the stocking plan you had recommended above and keep everyone posted on the progress. You had mentioned possibly adding a few HSB into the mix which I'm considering, but wanted to know if WE could possibly work? My thought was if the dissolved oxygen was high enough for the WE to survive, maybe I could throw a few in with the SMB instead of HSB since the WE wouldn't reproduce either. It seems to me that HSB would be a more voracious predator than WE.

Another idea I had was to stock a few HBG in with the RES. I was doing some reading on other threads and thought they could possibly be a good option for me. I realize my goals for this small pond may be getting lofty, I just want to have as wide of a variety of fish to catch as possible.

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Walleye would survive providing the oxygen remained good year round. WE feed differently than the HSB. WE will eat more foods near the bottom whereas the HSB will eat fish that are commonly more in open water, although in small ponds HSB frequently are close to shore and shallow water. HBG will thrive with WE and or HSB. It will be interesting to see what lives best and the longest in your small mini-pond.


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