I have come to appreciate the wisdom that can be gained here. So before I get another hair-brained idea I am going to start as if I don’t know anything. I have an existing 3 acre lake that is in the process of being restored. (See Pond restore advice needed in help forum.) So I have some time to plan. It is located in a very small town in Wisconsin. My goal is to have a place to go for the kids in the neighborhood can have fun catching fish. My thinking is lot of BG of nice size will keep kids busy and having fun. If there are a few giant ones that would be good too. I also love to eat GB better than anything else. My thought was a BG only lake. But I would like the experts here to weigh in before I form a plan.

Please assume for this discussion there is good structure, aeration and circulation year around.

Thanks

disclaimer; I'm not an expert.

I would include some LMB or HSB if you want to catch some decent size BG. If you don't have either LMB or HSB you will eventualy have stunted BG.

I would go with LMB but that's because I love fishing for them and they make good table fare. If your not into fishing for and eating LMB then you could go with the HSB since they will not reproduce and will be a little less maintenence. Just my .02 cents.

The experts will have to help you with stocking ratios.

I would also check liability issues before opening up your pond to neighborhood kids. Great jesture, just make sure you are protected.

Verry true Brandon. I always like to let kids fish at my pond. I can't immagine growing up not being able to fish. I just always make sure that their parents know where they are. I also make sure that I know their parents.

It's a shame that people have become so sue crazy that you can't even let a kid enjoy a pond without worrying about being sued.

Is there any way to protect yourself legaly? I don't want to hijack this thread but I think this could be relevent to Sauman's question.

So true.

Good point but liability is not an issue. This is a pond in the middle of town in the middle of the city park. I am not the owener but town council given me the green light to manage the pond.

Thats great. Who's budget do we have to work with...yours or the town?

For this year there are no monies budged for lake improvement beyond what we are already doing. See link below for that info. Next year and the following I am sure I can get some monies budgeted. However I have a small team (Father in community with young fishing age boys) that is ready to start fundraising. The park and lake is one of the town’s favorite items so raising some funds will not be too difficult even in today’s economy. But before we can ask for money really need a plan. So for this project let’s assume that we will have modest funding and lots of free labor. I am also a long standing member of the town board.


http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=13549&Number=161225#Post161225

For your goals I would go heavy on the bass stocking. They will be stunted and small but easy to catch, and there will still be plenty of BG for the kids to catch, many of which will be rather large.

In a 3 acre pond in Wisconsin you are far north and really have to worry about BG overpopulation as opposed to a southern pond. So the idea of early stocking of the BG is not needed IMO. This is how I would stock it to produce a kid friendly fishing hole.

First spring after you finish the renovation process:

225 LMB
1200 BG
300 PS

Second spring after renovation:

Another 225 LMB

The PS will add some interest to the fishing. I'd say stock RES but I think you may be a bit too far north for them to do well.

Have you thought of catfish? I've read that if stocked heavily they can rummage around the bottom and foul up water quality, but when I was 12 years old there wasn't a better feeling than catching an 8lb channel cat. The initial adrenaline rush when you see the rod tip get slammed when the catfish inhales the bait all the way to the fight and unhooking the fish avoiding the fins. Good stuff.

In low numbers CC could be a good option as well to add diversity to the fishing. They would have to be restocked every year or every other year though...

Sauman,

I grew up in way-up-North Wisconsin where many small communities had lakes/ponds like you describe. I always had lots of fishing opportunities, but one place that really sticks in my mind was the children's fishing pond in Solon Springs, WI. (See Park Creek Pond at Day Parks in Douglas County, WI)

At least back in the '50s, this little lake was regularly stocked with rainbow trout. Back then, the fishing age limit was 12. As a small kid, it was a real treat when my parents took me there. I always caught fish -- plus, there was a Dairy Queen right nearby.

Good Luck,
Ken

Sauman -- we use that rainbow trout "trick" a lot around here. We've got a very small pond where the Optimist Club and the Brookings Wildlife Federation stock rainbow trout in spring for the kids. It's only a half acre pond, and they have clinics, help the kids bait hooks, clean fish, etc. In addition, the state agency (SD Game, Fish and Parks) stocks catchable rainbows in a gravel pit complex owned by the city. They stock those spring and fall (which goes into winter ice fishing). The trout can't survive mid-summer temps, but most are caught by then. The largemouth bass and panfish don't seem bothered, it reduces pressure on the naturally reproducing fish, and if the largemouths eat some of them, so be it. Our student chapter of the American Fisheries Society is doing a creel survey this year, and we'll get an idea of what percentage of the trout are actually harvested (as well as the hours of recreation that are provided).

Those studies that show the percentage of stocked fish that actually go to the creel are very interesting to me... I was particularly amazed at how low the return was when trout were stocked in the fall and kept as catch and release until mid spring when they could be harvested. Something like only 5 to 10% survived to be harvested in the spring...

I don't know if this will be a problem for you but around here all the park ponds are pretty much fished out. It's sad, The kids go to fish and all the "grown ups" have taken all the fish out for food. I don't like to be a nay sayer but that's another thing you might have to find a solution for.

If the pond is catch and release only then you might run into an overpopulation problem, which can be remedied easily. You could open the pond up for a kids fishing derby and have the kids check the fish in as they catch them. Then you can decide wheter to cull the fish or release it. That's looking a few years into the future but it's important to have a good plan.

I hope it all works out for you. As I said earlier I think all kids should have the opportunity to fish.

n8ly might be able to help you a little. he has a realy neat kids fishing project going on in Peoria IL.

Having grown up in Bloomington IL I remember the small ponds are all fished hard. It was always a 45 minute drive just find big enough water to float the boat. Other than watching the corn grow, was not much else to do but go fishing. Anyway the population here is less that 500 and there is only one stop light in the county. We are 1 mile from the river (Mississippi) so adults serious about fishing go there. The population density and culture is enough different we should not have an overfishing problem. More likely it will be under fished and will address that down the road if comes.

Thanks again for all the suggestions and ideas. Please keep them coming.

Sounds like a slice of heaven. One stop light and only 500 people in the County. I would try to keep well intentioned people from "helping" you stock the pond. With public help, you can wind up with a pretty interesting mess on your hands.

If it will be under harvested then :

CC , BG , PS , LMB with RT (seasonally) and HBG seasonally (if available at 4-5 inches and you have the $).

You know what the great thing is...even if something goes wrong, you introduced a bunch of kids to fishing and they will be there to help clean up the mess. Kudos to you for taking on the project and getting youngsters hooked on fishing.

When I was a kid, I did lots of "livewell" stocking of neighborhood ponds near my home. Turned a piece of water into something fun to fish in. The fishing ended up being very good in a lot of them and it sure gave all the other kids in the neighborhood something to do. Even if I didn't quite understand how to properly stock a pond back then... Sure did learn a lot doing that though.

CJ I hope you had the owners permission. or

Ewest notes
If nothing else, it resolves the "fish stocking of unwanted species via bird's feet" controversy.

So true. I bet future cops are responsible for a good portion of the subversive, unexplained fish populations. They should have been arrested.

They were owned by the home owner's association of the neighborhood I lived in, so they were not privately owned ponds... They had no fish in them for 3 or 4 years before I starting putting fish in. Never got one complaint, just lots of thanks. One was owned by a Pepco power company. It was a very small retention pond. I used it to raise forage fish. So no making private pond owners angry with unwanted stockings.

Hey, if CJ became a conservation officer we would never have to stock our ponds again.

And the increased rotenone sales would be good for the economy.

OK, undo the cuffs.

No conservation officer here, but I do write lots of no fishing license tickets. HAHA