Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Creating the food chain bluegill pond for forage

Part of my pond management program for my 8 acre pond is to stock 750 -1000 coppernose bluegill .
I have another pond that is smaller than an acre that is full of stunted bass and bream. What I'm thinking is retenone the small pond, then stock it with coppernose, and seine coppernose from it as needed to stock the big pond. Fertilizing and feeding will take care of the forage needs for the bluegill in the small pond
My first question- I can't remember when to stock the 750-100 cnbg in the big pond. According to the Texas Farm Pond Calender it should be in the fall between Sept. and Dec. Does that sound right?
Second Question- If I were to stock 200 cnbg in the small pond around the end of August, any chance they might spawn once or twice during the fall? Thanks in advance

You don't mention the size, but here are the general guidelines in Texas. Stock 1 to 3 inch bgill from the beginning of September thru December, stock advanced bgill from the beginning of March thru the end of June. The advanced bgill should spawn all the way thru mid October.
Temps really limit the healthy transport of adult fish now, but if you're very close...moving adults now leaves time for a late summer / early fall spawn if all goes well. (Moving adults is my preferred method, I "see" and "select" the broodstock...inferior fish always go up on the bank)

Roadtrip, The guidelines say 1,000 bluegill per acre. 750 to 1,000 in an 8 acre tank will take a long time to properly populate. Yeah, I know. It's expensive. You also need about 5 lbs. of fatheads per acre.

I seldom disagree with anything Eastland says but I believe I would rather stock in the spring. Just my opinion. Nothing really wrong with stocking in the fall but they just seem to live there during the winter without growing or spawning. In the early Spring I see a lot of baby bluegill from the previous fall. You will have some mortality without any real benefit. I would not neglect the fatheads. Their young can feed everything in the water. They are just as prolific as bluegill.

Coppernose is a neat fish. However, they have never really shown any advantage over plain old bluegill. Occasionally, Coppernoses don't make it for some reason or another. I have never heard of native bluegill failing. There has also not shown any indication that Coppernoses get any larger than native bluegills.

Dave, re-reading the post, I'm wrong. I've been having so much fun on the board that I didn't see this is an existing pond...I would only suggest stocking in the fall to gain the advantage of an early spring spawn and to avoid stress of relocation. If there are predators, stock the bgill in the Spring...and stock the biggest fish you can afford.

If you are going to use rotenone and wipe out the existing small pond before stocking, be sure to test the water before adding any new fish. Rotenone will break down quickly with higher water temperatures, but slower when they are lower. Also rotenone is expensive and usually requires a license to purchase. With that said, I did this in an existing pond that I have back in 2002. Be sure to drain the pond down as low as you can to help save on costs of the rotenone. One gallon will treat about 1 surface acre. You may or may not already know this, but wanted to point this out for others reading.

You don't mention whether the larger pond is a new pond or an existing pond, which maybe the reason for the confusion in the responses posted already.

Another note on the coppernose bluegill. They've done very well in my pond, and one of the main reasons I got them, besides B. Lusks touting of them, was I planned to feed them and they have grown very well. Also they are not quite as prolific as the native bluegills, and therefore you get a little edge on preventing overcrowding and stunting. They both taste great!

Just one clarification that I spotted (hoping that JM won't mind).

One gallon of the liquid rotenone formulation will treat 1 acre-foot of water at 3 ppm, which is usually an effective treatment. So, if a pond is 3 acres, and has an average depth of 7 feet, then 21 gallons (21 acre-feet) would be required for the 3 ppm treatment. JM is certainly correct when he advises you to drain as much water as possible prior to treatment. Less water equals a lot less bucks.

Dave

Sorry about the confusion. The 8 acre pond (gravel pit) is an existing pond with a balanced population of Bass and native bluegill, sunfish and cats, that's why I only need 750-1000 for the entire pond.
Bob Lusk did an electroshock evaluation last Feb. and wrote a plan down for me- I lost the piece of paper it was on, but I remember everything except when to stock the coppernose! I'm trying to save money by just buying a couple hundred 1-3", stocking them in the small pond, and hopefully having the 750 to 1000 by spring, but they might not be the advance size recomended for spring stocking. Or would it be better to stock the small pond with 4-5" cnbg because they would be more likely to spawn than the 1-3"? (I can get 100 of the 4-5" for $85.) But again, will the offspring be advanced size by spring? If not I should just go ahead with the fall stocking of 750-1000 1-3" cnbg.($300) Its gonna be a lean Christmas.
Thanks for the good information everyone. This is a great website.

This is Lusk's plan. I'd E-mail him and ask. Explain $ considerations. Being self employed, he will understand. But, I expect you will have to go with the large CNBG in the large pond.

One problem is the number of bass, etc. in the small pond. Having it rotenoned is expensive. However, if you can afford to have it done, you can go with the littlest stuff and have a forever forage pond. I doubt that it would do any good to stock 1 to 3 "CNBG. You have too many stunted (starving) bass.

Have you considered trying to bring the smaller pond into a more desirable balance? Clean out the majority of the bass and then stock intermediate size CNBG. You might need fishing help but call neighbor kids or friends or? I think that getting help sets a questionable precedence but it may be necessary.

Even if you stock large CNBG, recruitment might be questionable with a gang of stunted bass in the smaller pond hanging around. I think I'd look into the rotenone or the bass cleaning out of the smaller pond. I have learned that properly maintaining a fishing hole and doing it right can be expensive and time consuming. Not staying on top of it means being out of balance like you are now. E-mail Lusk with the alternatives. He'll answer.