Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose New pond stocking

I plan on stocking fatheads and leaving them in for months before adding B.G.'s.
The leaving the B.G.'s in for about a year before adding 1-2" LMB's. Is there any other fish I might 'need'?
I don't have the pond built right now, but I do understand acreage matters towards how many stocked, I am more wondering about any other fish besides the above?
Thanks

Redears; substitute for maybe 20% of your planned BG.

Ok so redears, b.g.'s, the minnows, (obviously) and the LMB's.
How about cat's...if so why?

Thanks and keep the posts coming

BD,

Once you get beyond the LMB,BG, FH combo, you are kind of into personal preference.

For me, no cats, period, none. Depends on what you want. HSB are a terrific option under the right conditions. Crappie, a definite no!

When you get around to ordering the LMB, you will need to decide on Floridas, natives (northern), and/or F1's. Again, personal preference and lots of discussions here on those pros and cons. Read, consider whats best for you, and then decide.

Well I don't want cat's if I don't 'need' them, and yeah I fish for crappies alot...I know how they are lol.

I keep forgetting what I read, so I would like to write it down from someone's reply.
Let's say the pond will be 2 acres.

How many pounds of minnows?

How many b.g.'s and following the first reply, H
ow many redears (I could always figure the number out myself based on what you guys reply on the bluegill #'s)

How many (a year later) LMB'S should I buy, and what size? (is the 1-2" number I posted a good ideal size)

Thanks

Meadowlark,

Are crappies a problem species, or just not to your liking?

If it came down to either/or crappie/LMB, I would have to think hard about it. I guess I would go with the crappie.

We agree on the catfish though. I can do without them.

My real favorite? Lunker BG!

Bob,

I love crappie...they just do not do well in small ponds. Do a search and read about all the horror stories just on this site alone.

They overpopulate a small pond...you will likely end up with stunted crappie, stunted bass, and a big heartache. If you want crappie, go to the nearest lake and catch them, but don't put them in a 1.5 acre pond.

p.s. my all time favorite fish...lunker BG on a fly rod, without a doubt.

BD, Bookmark this link: Langston U. Pond Mgt Articles
It has a ton of info (eminently suitable for beginners and good for refreshing those slightly farther along such as myself) on many aspects of Pond Management, published by your fellow Okies.

As far as stocking numbers, it partly depends on what your goals are. 500-1000 BG/RES per acre is the range usually recommended. If you're putting in FH months before any other fish and a year before the LMB, 5 lbs per acre is probably enough.
Want a big Bass pond? Then hold down the LMB numbers, maybe 50 per acre. Want a balanced fishery? Maybe 100 LMB/acre. You can try & decide what your goals are before you stock the bass (I changed my mind after I stocked when I started fishing the pond, now I am concentrating on managing for large BG).

If you have forage fish in for a year or more when the LMB are stocked, I would go with Bass bigger than 1"-2". You should have enough forage to support LMB up to 6" or so easily, I would think (but I'm no expert). I suggest seeing what sizes are available and how they match up with your budget when you get close to putting in the Bass

BD :

What do you want from your pond ? What are your goals ? Everything else depends on those questions. For example if you want a trophy BG pond you may want to have it bass crowded on purpose . If you want large bass then you may want to cut down your first stocking of bass and add an additional forage fish. There are many management tools to use based on your goal and how much you want to work at it.

I would add RE to the mix as suggested. I would not include crappie nor cats. The amount of fish will depend on the ponds carrying capicity. That will depend in part on water quality {if you need or intend on fertlizing} and or feeding , both or nither .

I would point out that there are studies and reports that question if Florida strain bass can survive well long term in north Ark. and Okla. They are not cold tolerant. The limited info I have seen indicates that F-1s would do better and probably a mix of F-1s and northern strain would be even better. It would be good if you could get your fish {all types} from local brood stock {not from the deep south ie. Fla.}.I hope this helps. Good luck. ewest

Theo thanks for that link.
Ewest I plan on having at least a 3 acre pond, and I would like to have a trophy bass pond. I have been reading where I need to take so many little ones out, to help this process, but if I was going for trophies, couldn't I just stock less on the initial stocking of LMB's?

And while I am thinking about it....black bass are which strain of LMB's? The f-1s?
Thanks again guys.

LMB and black bass are used interchangeably.

There are 3 common strains and a bunch of others.

Northern

Florida

F-1 is cross between Northern and Florida but not a hybrid. In theory, the F-1 combines the best of both. Some question that but they do seem to live longer and get bigger than pure Northerns. I don't think they bite as well as Northerns. Some agree with that and others don't.

The three main "Black Bass" species are the Spotted, the Smallmouth, and the Largemouth (Northern, Fla, F-1, and intergrades in between). There are also 1 or 2 other Black Bass species that live in fairly small regions.

I think I will go with F-1s
Thanks guys!

BD :

Dave and Theo answered most of your questions well. On your remaining question on stocking rates you are right. You can have your first bass stocking at less than the normal rate as a method of growing larger bass faster. In Theo's post above he covers that point very well. The part about taking bass out applies as they get to their second and subsequent years and their offspring. All things being equal bass tend to over populate in ponds. If you reduce the #s the remaining bass do better. The key is having good water quality and a good forage base. You may want to get Pondboss editor Bob Lusk's book on raising trophy bass. As a general rule to get large bass stock fewer bass and have a larger forage base . I like Theo's suggestion of using larger bass if your forage base is over a year old . You would of course put in fewer in # if you do that. If you are going to use larger bass [6-8 in.} contact your supplier early and be sure they reserve them for you. Sometimes larger bass are hard to find. ewest

Dang Theo, I had always heard that Yankees call the smallmouth a brown bass. Guess I stand corrected again.

I have heard them called Bronzebacks. Ain't that jus' like a Yankee to not know his colors?