Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Pond carrying capacity

First of all, a big THANK YOU to everyone for taking the time to set those words to print. I see stocking numbers thrown about as fish per acre, but the size of the fish is usually left out of the equasion.

I agree, quality better than quantity. I'm trying to change the BG genetics in my pond, and I think I have a slightly better chance than a snowball in he** in accomplishing that.

While I like catching large BG, I am not willing to go to the extents necessary to transform the BOW to a trophy BG pond - I like diversity as well.

I think I need to stock Tilapia during the summer to help combat algae growth without having to rely on chemicals. The pond has historically had algae problems before it was renovated, and last year I spot treated about 1/4 of the shoreline out 4' or so due to floating mats. Last year I added 135 or so Blue Tilapia, but they were 4" at time of stocking, and I don't know how many the LMB had for lunch. I only saw a total of 4 Tilapia the rest of the year. I'll be consulting with Rex on the amount to stock in 2010.

I stocked RBT this Fall, and like having that fishery available for the cool weather when the BG/LMB don't bite readily.

While having CC in the pond for a fish fry with the neighbors is nice, not being able to catch them isn't. I think the majority of CC will be slowly weaned out of the pond. The 100 CC that were stocked Spring '09 were fin clipped, so I can sorta keep track of the CC in the pond. There were 4 CC that should be over 15# now, one was caught and tagged last Spring at 28" and 14.5#. The other 3 are the same age and in August '08 they were all the same size.

My goals right now is to get the forage base built up with Bordello's and Condello BG, RES, and GSH. I know that I have some large BG in the pond (I know there are a few 10" in there), most are 7"-9" and are males. Eventually, I would like to get the forage built up to sustain a light stocking of HSB to go along with the LMB.

I think the 100' distance for fish to travel to feed is a pretty good number. I've caught RBT right around that distance from the feeder that were noticeably thinner than the RBT that were hanging around the feeder.

My pond bounces around in size from 1 3/4 ac in the Spring to 1 ac in the late Fall/Winter, and I think the average depth is right around 9' or so. I'll use the 9 ac/ft of water figure in my standing crop calculations.

The biggest problem is figuring out what the standing crop is at any given time. With the fish that die out at certain water temps, those carrying capacity numbers are easy.

Right now, January 2010, my goals are to eventually have HSB, LMB, BG, RES, GSH in the pond, with RBT and Tilapia as transient residents. The numbers of LMB, BG, and RES in the pond now are really unknown, but I think I have a good idea of the fish numbers and size. The pond is very light with regards to LMB over 12" long. I'll bet that there are less than 20 over 12" long. But, all the LMB are over 1.0 WR, probably due to the minimal structure in the pond. I am not overrun with BG because I stocked sexually mature BG, and when stocked, it was very close to a 90%/10% mix of males to females. Plus the lack of cover let the LMB have their way with the YOY BG.

This pond was roughly 1/3 ac until the renovation that was completed in mid August 2008.

So, given those facts/figures, and using the esteemed Mr. Cody's definitions, what carrying capacity should I shoot for, with the answer expressed in % of standing crop figuring on 0% CC in the standing crop in an aerated, 9 ac/ft, supplementally fed BOW in Zone 5? (HSB, LMB, BG, RES, GSH) To make it easier, shoot for 100% standing crop and I'll reduce the numbers by 20% to make room for the tilapia and RBT.