Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Creating the food chain brand new pond needs fish!

Hello all!
I'm a new subscriber, and I've tried to scavenge the forums as much as I could before I ask a question that I'm sure you've all answered a thousand times before...
I'm the pround owner of a 1.25 acre pond that was dug this summer in south central MN. It's fed by runoff and seepage, with a max depth of roughly 12'. I don't have anything in it for structure yet. I'm hoping to get some of that in place next summer, when I put in the riprap on the "people side" (and finish the beach for the wife).
My goal is a combination fishing and swimming pond, with minimal maintenance. Water clarity will be a big deal since my wife's a city gal I'm thinking LMB, BG, FHM, and shiners will be the way to go, with some crayfish just for the heck of it. The frogs found their way to the pond before it was even finished and they seem happy enough.
Here's where I start getting nervous:
There currently isn't ANY plantlife. Should I transplant before stocking? If so, what?
Also, should I unload some gravel on the ice when I'm home in January for a spawning area? What depth should I shoot for?
There's also a catch to all of this. I'm currently in Iraq, and will be over here for another year. Can I stock shiners and fatheads in May, and then leave them unattended for a year?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Z

I thought that pic was loading a little fast...

Howdy, Z, and welcome to the Forum!

If you stock FHM and GSH this Spring and wait for a year, you will have a ton of forage for your LMB when you stock them and the BG. I went this route on my first pond, and IMHO the only downside is the delay - if you don't mind that (or have the unavoidable delay to utilize) it will work fine.

Aquatic plants will volunteer their way in over time. The most important plant life - phytoplankton - will show up first. Larger plants will tend to take longer. As to whether you want to add any yourself, there are a couple of questions to answer that can help you decide.

How much plant coverage do you think is desirable? If the answer is "none", your plan may be to not put any in and load up on grass carp. If the answer is "a lot, of the right kinds", I suggest asking Bill Cody to E-Mail you the Power Point show for his excellent "If You're Going to Have Weeds, They Might as Well be Pretty" talk on hybrid water lilies from PBCon III (sadly, the PP slides don't include Bill's tapdance number, or the paperboy scene from Streetcar Named Desire which he reenacted with Bob Lusk).

Are there problem plants in nearby BOW, likely to show up on their own, that you want to preempt? Similarly, if your pond will be fished by boats frequenting waters with undesirable plants, preemption may be more advisable.

BG and LMB will spawn on virtually any substrate - clay, sand, gravel, etc. Adding gravel is not necessary, but won't hurt these two species either. Therefore, don't bust a budget or a gut to add it, but if you will enjoy doing it go right ahead. If you aim for 2 feet to 6 feet of depth, that will likely cover the ranges BG and LMB like to spawn at in most BOW (IIRC water clarity influences preferred depth somewhat, deeper in clearer water). Ice migration at thaw out varies a lot from pond to pond (and year to year, at least down South in Ohio), so I don't know what you can expect from aiming accuracy.

Hello Z and welcome to Pond Boss. My wife and I swim and fish in our pond. It's great fun. Thanks for posting, we're glad you found us. Thank you for your service to our country, we truly appreciate it!

Oh and ask any and all questions, knowledge and humor are free on this forum.

Welcome Z and thanks for your sacrifice. My brother has been in the last 3 Mid-east conflicts and just got home from Afghan.

I would wait on the gravel until you pick the right spot (where the fish are spawning). No need to rush. But if you know the spots you can sure do it now. Avoid silty areas.

You could start with the FH and a few shiners. While they grow take the time to look into what you want in the pond for predators. There are several options. The FH and shiners will fit all the options.

Welcome Z, thank you for your service and sacrafice as well. I believe that your pond will be find with just the forage fish in it for the first year, hopefully your friends and neighbors won't "help" you by stocking fish for you while you are away.

If you do go the forage fish for the first year route, when you do stock predators they will have a heck of a growth spurt the first few years!!

Welcome, Z, and God bless you for your service. Like the others have said, it's truly appreciated. Best of luck with your long distance pond project!

Welcome CZ, you'll get plenty of expert advice here, good luck with your pond and stay safe over there.

Wow! Thanks for all the quick responses!
I've got mesh under the sand in the beach area, so hopefully that'll control the weeds in our shallow wading/swimming area. I'll make note of the grass carp option in case my best laid plans go awry. Come to think of it, I may need them later to keep the amount of FHM/GSH hiding places under control, right?
I'm including a topo we used for construction. I was thinking of spreading a yard of gravel on the "shelf" on the East side of the pond. I figure $20 for the gravel and an hour of shovelling in the great outdoors is a minimal investment for the experiment.

Theo: you mentioned phytoplankton. Is there a way for me to know if it's there, and if I have enough to support the FHM/GSH? How many pounds of each type of fish is advisable?
I've got power down to the edge of the pond, so I had been planning on sneaking a certain hairdryer out for a controlled thaw/gravel dump, thus avoiding ice shift. I'll let you guys know how it goes

On another note: there were already ducks and geese eyeballing my precious new sanctuary. I've read that they can be a problem by spreading parasites. Any words of wisdom before I let them get too comfortable?

Oh - (the questions are really coming to me now) I was thinking of anchoring a couple of Christmas trees in the NE dropoff for structure. Would it be prudent to test the PH of the water to see if I would be making it too acidic?

Thanks for all your kind wishes. I'm scheduled for a trip home in mid-January. Maybe I'll do some mock ice-fishing on the new pond, just for the experience.

I mock-fish our pond all the time. Not intentionally mind you, it just seems to turn out that way. At my place a session of mock fishing is usually followed by fish mocking.

Carry on.

He also hunts mock turtles for soup stock and making sweaters.

Normally Sunil would be all over a thread re: should I stock fatheads now? Seems he is a little gunshy right now.Sorry, CZ, inside joke. Very nice looking pond. Go for the forage if you can get a good deal, or stock them as early next spring as you can. Many thanks for your service.

Not much to add, except a thank you as well, and a year to let your forage multiply will be great for your teeth to get a good jump start.