Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Suggestions stock N Missouri lake

Have a new 5 acre lake. Will stock this fall- we want to stock LM Bass, Black Crappie, blue gill, channel and some channel/blue cat hyb - and maybe some walleye- doing alot of reseach and wondering the numbers of fish and timing of stocking/size to stock. This lake is in NE Missouri about 1/2 hour south of the Iowa line- any and all advise appreciated. Leaving the crappie out is not a option - everything else is! Thanks

How deep, Big Bass? How big is the watershed?

Sorry about that - we built this lake according to the Ray Scott videos if anyone has seen them. It is about 35% 2-4 ft water, 40% 4-10 ft water, and about 25% 10-25 ft water. Water is clear meaning you can see down 24 inches- we are considering fetilizing to decrease visablilty. It gets clear over the summer and mid winter months and of course is much less clear during rainy periods of sping and fall. Thanks

I'd be somewhat reluctant to fertilize if your clarity is 24 inches. That's close enough to ideal that it might not be worth the risk and expense to fertilize. Your clarity could drop to 6 inches in a hearbeat. Our soils in Eastern Nebraska are naturally fertile enough that nobody EVER fertilizes. Careful, careful.

I personally like crappie in spite of the fact that they require more intensive management. Be ready to keep your bass numbers a little high and participate in "angler harvest" of the crappie. Also, you should resist the temptation to add crappie from nearby lakes because of the fact that you will be complicating your situation if you get both black and white crappie genetics. Get them from a very reliable source who can get you just the species you desire. You'll have to decide between blacks and whites--my personal preference is black crappie for clear ponds.

I might be the least knowledgable person on this forum when it comes to numbers on initial stocking, especially when it comes to more complex fish communities. Remember that you can always ADD species, but it is very difficult to subtract. Keep it as simple as you possibly can initially.

My feelings based on recent Crappie discussions on combos like yours is to stock forage, then predators, then crappie, allowing 6 months to a year in between stages to allow each set to establish. That point established, I'd think FHM now (5-10 lbs), BG/RES this Fall (800&200), 150 LMB next Spring, maybe 100 Crappie next Fall. (That's just WAG talk to start a conversation - all numbers per acre.)

If you can obtain advanced sized Walleye, I would wait for three-five years to see what your other fish populations look like and decide if the pond can take Walleye and if so, how many.

I've had great luck stocking 2 bass to 1 crappie. You will find growth rates to be good and recruitment to be at a more manageable rate. Watch your forage species closely. If you stock all those different predator fish, it can become very easy for balance to be knocked out of whack, especially in our wacky weather we have in MO. I was going to stock some walleye in one of my ponds, and the MDC biologist I talked to told me I would be wasting my money. He said most ponds here don't produce even a mediocre fishery.