Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose HBG vs BG for small pond

Hello everybody, thanks for taking the time to read. I have read and searched through here but still don't have a solid answer so I am asking for my specific situation.

I have a new 3/4 acre pond max dept 9-10 ft. It was finished this July, full pool early Oct. I have stocked FHM and paper shell crayfish. It has plenty of tadpoles and frogs.

Structure I have a few large trees piled together and a couple hundred cinder blocks, rip rap on one bank.

My goal is large LMB with some BG for the kids to catch. I was told 1,000 BG & 35-50 LMB. I will feed but no aerators yet. I ordered via the GA DNR but had complications. This late in the season I have 2 options left: order GA Giant HBG or Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) from a different dealer. What would you recommend?

HBG will not be enough forage for your LMB, I would recommend regular BG as your LMB will deplete your FHM in short order and HBG will not spawn enough.

If you want HBG, go with HSB instead of LMB....I think HSB are more fun to catch and can grow much faster than LMB given a feeding program.....

I don't know much about HSB.I have only caught a few stripers and one White Bass in Lake Sinclair. The guy at the fishery told me I had a chance to get a 10lb LMB if I culled every year and only started with 35-50 bass.

What size do you think I could expect with HSB? I am game for whichever gives me the best chance at the most large bass to catch.

You could have some luck with Small Mouth Mass and they should not reproduce as much as the Large mouth bass and could be managed easier. They Might work with they HBG maybe adding a shiner species to the mix.

Forgot to put that I am stocking Golden Shiners in the Spring ahead of the Bass.

I wonder if I should put 25 LMB with 25 HSB?

Only thing is I wonder with that few LMB what the inner breeding would do?

Since I want the largest bass I can get in a small pond, would you recommend HSB or LMB or a combo? I was told the LMB could make it in the 8-10 lb range with heavy culling each year. But I figured the HSB would get there even if I was not able to cull due to little/no reproduction. What is your thought?

I am only going to comment on your original post because you are starting to stray away with so many other options and temptations. If you want to get the biggest LMB you can, you want to be heavy with forage and light with predators. HBG will not do that for you. You want the LMB to be able to fill their mouths while asleep. Lots of BG forage will be fun for the kids to catch. If swimming in the pond, you should add RES to the mix.

I can not give you good stocking advice on numbers. Pros will be able to guide you there, however I think the BG numbers seem low and the LMB numbers seem high. You also have not said what size BG you are stocking, and that has a bearing on numbers to stock and then how soon after LMB should be stocked. You can't just be told what size you should stock, you need to also find out what sizes are available. Not only a small gene pool come low numbers of bass, but the LMB will get hook shy. You probably will need to introduce a small number of new ones every once in awhile. You might also have to use a shock boat once in awhile to remove the LMB that have become to hook shy. The pros can advise on the type of LMB that might be best for you. Some grow fast, some are less hook shy, etc...

I see you are planning on feeding and aeration , I believe you could grow more HSB a lot easier than LMB. You could also do a mixture , especially if you go with regular BG as the HSB alone will probably have trouble controlling the BG population especially if they are pellet trained. For me the fight of a 3-5lb HSB doesn't compare to even huge LMB.

Hey C270,

I'll comment to this part of your post. Well done on getting habitat for the PSC (Papershells) in place and stocking them. Food for thought....you still have no predators in your pond. The FHM will give your bass a good start but will quickly disappear once you drop the LMB or HSB in. IMHO I would take this opportunity to stock a more robust bait fish than the FHM. Something that can sustain a population in the future. I don't know what the best choices for Georgia would be but maybe one of the pros will chime in with a suggestion or two.

Good Luck. Exciting time when you're stocking that new pond!

Bill D.

You have a very difficult lofty goal that is very rarely accomplished if you want a 10 lb LMB. The general consensus here is to avoid GA GiantBG. They will definately not help grow bass.

I think you will have a better chance growing more 8-10 pound predators in a 0.75 ac pond if you use HSB compared to LMB. Even with good culling of small bass it will be quite difficult to grow just one 10lb LMbass in your pond. There is hardly enough habitat and growing area available in 1 acre to grow several 8-10 lb LMB. Carrying capacity plays a big role for limiting production of big fish in a small pond. You will have a decent chance to grow several 4 to 6 lb bass. Growing them to 8 lbs becomes more difficult. Then catching the largest LMB will be very difficult after they have seen numerous year's worth of various lures used to remove/cull small bass. Each time you catch the original stocker bass they get more hook avoidance smart.

To grow a few big LMbass in your fairly small pond, lots of important factors will have to come together. Factors like proper culling/harvest, constant high amounts of diverse forage types(not just BG), low angler hours, great genetics, and lots of luck. In your process of significant bass harvest you will be teaching the oldest bass to be very hook smart and to avoid lures. If you can't catch the 8lb bass does it really meet your goal?

Other forage items to consider for growing big bass would be threadfin shad, crayfish, tilapia, and very likely trout added each late fall-winter, early spring after the LMB get to 5 lbs. You will likely have to spend significant money each year to add stock amounts of large sized forage.

IMO I would not use papershell crayfish for growing big bass. Papershell do not grow to a big enough meal for bass over 4-5 lbs. A better crayfish would be white river crayfish (White River crawfish) or red swamp crayfish (Procambarus (Scapulicambarus) clarkii. 

HSB will feed heavily on pellets and grow fast. They will have no reproduction so you will not have to remove lots of young bass to keep the natural foods abundant. Pellets will keep the predators growing. Not fishing for small bass and just fishing mostly with smallish lures for panfish helps minimize hook smart large fish. More HSB can be grown to larger sizes in a small pond compared to LMB unless you use ONLY pellet trained, female excellent genetics LMbass which are extremely difficult to source.

Look though the archive thread about growing & managing LMB for posts discussing growing big bass. Compare the information to information about growing HSB.
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=255372#Post255372

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=92629#Post92629

See the pm.

Just saw this thread. Be very sure you read the info on the forum before using GGs.

They will not support LMB.

Thanks everyone for the info,

Fish: I was originally only asking about BG vs GG but then while reading a reply I heard what had been mentioned to me prior about HSB vs LMB. That is the reason for the switching topics. From you responses I will stay away from the GG. The pond will not really be for swimming, mostly fishing.

Bill D: The BG available are 2 inch, they will be stocked this month with the bass being added next spring. I am also adding GSH from Anderson Minnows in early spring and plan to add Threadfin yearly.

Bill Cody: I understand the goal of large LMB in a small pond is difficult, I am shooting for the highest I can. I will be very happy with 4-6lb LMB in the pond. I don't mind spending time and money reaching these goals, but the thought of not worrying about extensive culling with HSB is what sparked my interest.

On the crayfish, that was the only one available from my searches on the internet and multiple telephone calls. If you have info on somebody that will ship the others please give me their name/contact.

A quick search revealed this place in Louisiana that has red swamp and white river crayfish shipped year round.
http://www.klcrawfishfarms.com/

I don't know if GSH are a good choice for Georgia but IMHO I do like you are waiting till spring to stock them. IMO they are just extra biomass in the pond over winter as they won't grow much or spawn until next spring anyway. Once they spawn, I think all those tiny GSH will be great forage for your BG.

Curious on your plan to stock TFS every year. Is it because they won't survive your winters? I think I read they are very susceptible to handling stress making them hard to stock. I might be wrong though.

I am a big fan of Georgia Giants but totally agree they are not for raising large LMB

BTW hey everybody its been awhile

Hope you have been doing well Bill ! Glad you checked in !

I was told by a local biologist that they usually die off in the winter here. I thought it was strange given my pond or my fathers pond nearby (30 yrs) has never iced over and very seldom has any ice on the banks? Cant say as water temps since I never have checked before this year.

The place I am getting them is only 30 minutes away so I will try it, if they last then I may only stock as needed.

On the GSH, everyone in this general area has suggested they are an excellent choice but I have not read research conducted in Southeast Ga to verify it. I like the idea of the Threadfin since they stay smaller but if they don't last, the GSH will be more economical.