First post in this forum. It's pretty exciting!

I have a new excavated pond in southeast Virginia that is about 2/10 of an acre. It will be eight to ten feet deep at full pool. Currently it's about halfway there, four feet of water on one end, and six feet at the other. It's fed partially from runoff, and partially through underground springs.

I'd like to stock this fall with a manageable number of RES and catfish. I'm still not sure if this pond will be big enough for bass.???

I love to fish, but I'm not going to do allot of harvesting. I'd like to feed them with pellets. There is a fish farm close by that has 2-3" RES and 4-6" channel cats. ($.30 each)

Are these good sizes, or should I shop around for larger fish? And what numbers do you guys recommend for this size pond? Do I need minnows if I only have RES and CC?

Thanks,
VA

Contratulations VA. I'll leave the stocking advice to the experts but it's great to see you're on your way!

If you're going to feed I don't think there's a NEED for minnows. They're cheap & would add to the diet of both RE & CC. Stock minnows now.
As for the sizes to stock I would use the guys close by unless you're in a real big hurry. You'll get phenominal growth in a new pond.

Are the Redear Sunfish for eating or for snail control to avoid parasites in the catfish?

For eating, but if they also control parasites that's great too. I'm not aware of ponds around here having snails, but maybe they do and don't know it.

Can anyone comment on how Redear may compare to regular bluegill as far as growing for eating?

RES generally get a little bigger than BG assuming enough food. They taste like BG. The RES can be a food source but they are much more easily overfished than BG because of reduced reproductive ability and limited pond ability to grow them (small niche in the pond for RES). RES are specialists (snails , worms , crustaceans , and some fish) unlike BG which are generalists (eat everything that fits in their mouth).

Okay, here's what I'm thinking.

60 BG
40 RES
20 CC
and 200 FH Minnows

How does that sound for an initial stocking?

And can somebody give me a crash course in how to release the fish into their new home?

That will work but IMO over time you will need a predator fish to control the offspring or you will have to harvest some fish.

When putting them in the pond the key is to temper the fish so that the water they come out of is near the same temp as the pond water temp. You do this by setting the bag in the pond and wait until the temps equalize. But once you open the bag you have to get them in the pond quick as the O2 in the bag will be released and there is not enough O2 in the water in the bag to keep the fish alive.

See the pics here http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=132883#Post132883