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

GPR's pond is projected to be about 1.5 acre when full, with an estimated 40 acre watershed. It's a long, narrow pond in between a hill and the creek in the bottoms which it parallels.

Without being able to give Georgia-specific advice (How 'bout them Dawgs), I think going with the standard BG/RES/LMB + CC mix for a first pond is a good thing. This proven species mix can be as easy or as challenging to manage as you want to make it, with more information available for handling these particular fish than other possible combinations.

If you plan on a pond "used more as enjoyment fishing (not for lunker fish)" and feel "large bream/midsize cats and bass are lots of fun to catch and are good eating size as well" (incidently, I happen to agree with you on those sentiments), I would not drop the LMB numbers below 50/acre. Keeping the bass number moderate to high will head you towards a balanced-to-slightly-bass-heavy condition; this should provide bigger bream and numberous mid-sized bass to catch.

I'd say increase the CC numbers to 75/acre if you really like catfish. I don't think that's an excessive number. (I also don't think 25 CC are worth 25 LMB as far as bream predation, so the bass stocking should stay at 50/acre IMHO).

You should not have any problems stocking FHM (and Gambusia, if you wish - read the threads on Gambusia/"Mosquito Fish" and see what you think) as startup-forage next Spring. GPR is considering getting his BG/RES/CC/LMB fingerlings from the state of Georgia and thinks the BG/RES/CC will be available in Fall 2007 and the LMB available Spring 2008. (I assume being state-provided fish, they will be small fingerlings). These stocking dates are perhaps later than many of us would prefer, but letting the startup forage and volunteer invertebrates multiply and grow next Summer will result in rapid growth of the other fish when they are added. It will work.

If the FHM have a whole Summer head start, I'd stock 10 lbs of them in the Spring. If using Gambusia also, maybe 500 or 1000 (?) of them.

P.S. I see Greg has posted. His advice is probably worth as much as the rest of us so far put together, if not more.