Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Hybrid bluegill and swimming in a new pond

I hand feed BG, CC, HSB, 5 piggy GC, 6 feedtrained RES, and some extremely motivated (read "hungry" and "self-taught pellet feeders") LMB in my 0.9 acre pond. Last year I fed a roughly 50-50 mix of Purina GFC (32% protein, $16/50 pounds locally) and Purina Aquamax 600 (40% protein, $26/50 pounds locally). I feed kind of medium-heavy currently (about 2/3 what I fed earlier when I had more CC and was growing them up to eating size), last year a total of about 300 pounds for a toal feed cost of about $125.

Mechanical feeders run from maybe $75 on up to several hundred dollars. See discussion in the "feeding" section for more info - there is a considerable amount of differences in feeders and experience/opinions on them there.



Opinions on this vary greatly from species to species, pond (owner) to pond (owner), and fish to fish. My existing pond does not have a great deal of structure in it, and feeding has served very well to help concentrate fish at a specific place and time, making fishing easier for me (in addition to bulking up the fish - fat BG are easier and more rewarding to clean/eat than skinny BG!).

Withholding feed for a day or two before fishing can serve to improve catch rates in fed ponds. Some fishing geniuses here have developed a fair number of ways to place or mimic feed pellets on a hook, which is a great way to catch fish which are expecting their regular fish food dinner. See Pellet Deceptions.




FHM are quite prolific, but so small, slow, and awkward that juvenile bass and even adult sunfish can make an easy meal of them. They seldom last more than 2 years in a pond after predators are introduced. GSH are much larger, faster, and agile, but spawn only once a year. They last longer than FHM, but are usually wiped out a few years after bass come along.

Whether these two species are able to make a go of it with 2 acres of marsh to hide out in will be interesting to find out. There may be other forage species (not readily commmercially available) which may be able to maintain a permanent presence under these conditions. I am interested what Dr. Cornwell, Dr. Willis, Dr. Perca, and the other experts have to say about this.