Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Stocked 4" cats in April what size bass next year.

All the hatcheries I've talk to want to stock my 1-3" bass now, but I was told on here not until next year. I stock 2-4" channel cats with my bg,re,& minnows last April. Will the cats be able to pray on any of my 1-3" bass if I wait to stock them next June? If so should I get 2-4" bass next spring, stock 1-3 bass now, or stock 2-4" bass this fall?

Should not worry about channels preying on bass that earliy especailly if you are not feeding them, might worry that the channels are going to be to small by the time the bass get there....

If I had it to do over, I'd wait on the cats and the bass until next year. I stocked cats with my minnows and bluegills. Then later stocked fifty 1 to 2 inch bass. I saw cats chasing fatheads around the water almost immediately and really wanted the minnows to spawn instead of being eaten. Didn't like it much. I put the tiny bass in expecting a bunch of them to not make it. I was hoping to delay having too many bass and having to clean out a bunch of them. I think not over 8 or 10 survived. All in all, my plan worked but if I had it all to do over again, I would stock forage and wait a year for predators. I'd go with 4 to 6 inch cats and bass of the same size. I think I would rather do the culling than let the tiny bass be eaten.

One reason the hatcheries push the bass fry is that they eat each other in the vats. Doesn't seem likely but they all admit it if you ask them. Funny to see a 2 inch bass with its brothers tail sticking out of its mouth.

I wonder why most fisheries seem to push NOT stocking and Cats at the same time one year later? I have herd several people say that the channels eat down their forage when they initally put them in..... I would think if the Bass and the Channels were the same size they would grow together....