Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose My new pond

Hey everyone I'm new to the forum and have a few questions about stocking my new pond. Any help will be appreciated, oh and by the way I live in new york if that helps at all.
Size: .1 acre(yes i know very small)
Deepest point: 6.5-7ft.
Mean Depth: 4ft.
Fish: none, and thats why i would like an idea of what i can put in,
Thanks

Seny, welcome to Pond Boss, it would help us to know more about your pond, and what goals for it you have.
Is the pond supplied by ground water ,surface water, or other outside sources?, will you be feeding the fish or using natural food, also do you have electricity available at the pond?
Usually it's best to establish your forage base the first year by stocking adult Fathead minnows or Golden shiners or both and also put in some structure to allow them protection and spawning areas.

My main goal is to produce a population of strong fighting fish, but also good eating fish,, and fish that will bite year round. The pond is supplied by ground water and this summer the pond got low due to the dry weather so we had to pump water back in, electricity is available around the pond if needed.

It sounds like yellow perch might be a good fit for your pond, they are active year round, taste great, and can take extremes in water temps and oxygen levels.
Also if you want to add structure to the pond this would be a great time to get Christmas trees. I would still suggest adding your forage minnows first and giving them a chance to spawn this summer before stocking your predators.
Hopefully Bill Cody will give you advice, He's an expert and also very knowledgeable about yellow perch, but there are also many other fish experts on this forum.

Thank You, it sounds like yellow perch would be perfect, there my favorite fish other than walleyes.

Seny what area of the state are you located?, I might be able to suggest some fish farms.

Troy, NY

There's one place near Rhinebeck that had many varieties of fish if they are still in business, Northeastern Aquatics, Phone 845-876-3983, I'll look thru my info and try to find some other places in this area.

Yeah im not sure if they are still in business, I can't find a website.

Here's an old list of NY fish hatcheries, many have been forced out of business by our great state bureaucracy.
http://pond.dnr.cornell.edu/Pond/NYDEC_2007_Private_Hatchery_List.htm

Hi Seny - welcome to the forum and congratulations on the birth of your new pond! Exciting times!

.1 acre is on the smaller side, you're right, but lots of us have similar "micro ponds" and have a blast managing successful fisheries. Based on the small size, you need to decide if you want numbers, or quality - because conventional pond management wisdom dictates you can't have both without very intensive management techniques.

Regarding the depth of the pond - due to it's shallow nature you need to pay attention to water quality moving forward and keeping it topped off with irrigation during Summer drought/heat and prior to the Winter freeze. Sounds as if you have irrigation options - that's great. Aeration will be something you'll want to research moving forward in year or two again as a smaller BOW can have water quality issues that appear much faster than a larger BOW.

Your stated goals are for angling, harvest, and some year round angling opportunities. Here's what I would suggest for a fishery:

First, stock forage and allow them some time to establish strong populations. FHM are a great start, and I like GSH as AP suggests. However, GSH will compete with your panfish for their specific forage niche [zooplankton, aquatic invertabrates, etc.] so it's a decision you need to make early RE forage types. I would also recommend some other forage types like Crawfish and Grass Shrimp.

YP provide year round angling and are tough to beat in the skillet with a beer batter in hot peanut oil. You will need to mind they will reproduce and may pose an overpopulation risk - so you'll need a apex predator to keep their numbers in line.

SMB can help manage the YP population along with your angling efforts. If there is no rocky substrate areas for the SMB to spawn you may not need to worry about managing their population.

HSB provide a very exciting Spring/Summer/Fall angling experience. They grow fast, are very strong fighters, and don't pose a overpopulation risk - they are put and take fish with a huge upside.

Your FHM won't last forever with these predators, and your GSH may not be able to support your predator population alone, so you are stuck in a situation many Northern pond owners face regarding a panfish species to establish. RES are great sunfish to couple with SMB as they won't overpopulate and stunt as they don't spawn multiple times annually. However, RES won't survive your Winters. You may have other options for sunfish I am not familiar with, but to my knowledge you are left with BG or PS. Left alone with SMB, YP, and HSB as your management devices, research/experience on the forum shows BG and PS will invevitably overpopulate and stunt. You can help manage their numbers through aggressive angling/culling, trapping or netting - but those are ongoing efforts and require a lot of time and effort you may not be willing/able to apply. Maybe a stunted population of PS or BG are worth healthy, fat SMB, YP and HSB? That's a choice for you to make.

Were it my fishery, I'd consider this stocking plan:

Spring 2011: Stock forage [GSH, FHM, Crayfish, Grass Shrimp]
Fall 2011: Stock 100 3-4" YP, 25 3-4" SMB, 100 MALE BG, 20 3-4" HSB

I'm betting the GSH and other forage species establish their populations and provide a reliable forage base - but they can't do it alone. I would also immediately begin a pellet feeding program for your YP, SMB, HSB and BG to help supplement the forage.

I may be off on my stocking numbers - there are far more experienced guides on the forum that will hopefully correct these. My reason for Male BG: You can grow trophies by selecting only males for stocking. Bear in mind, however, it's difficult for me to determine sex on smaller fish, so you will need to consider stocking more advanced fish and only do so where you are 100% confident! One mistake and you will have a thriving BG population in a matter of months.

Just some ideas for you...again - only ideas! Hope this sparks something for you.

Thank you very much,That stocking plan sounds very good for next year, and your right the one thing I worry about is a pond full of stunted fish like many private ponds around here. I was just wondering if there is any place in new york that provides HSB?

I know its the wrong place but can anyone identify this guy?

I'm no expert, but I vote longear sunfish, or red breast sunfish.

What do you think CJ.

Looks like a redbreast sunfish to me... If it was a longear, you'd have caught a state endangered fish. Pretty coloration on the redbreast as well.

My guess is hybrid RBS.

http://www.cnr.vt.edu/efish/families/hybrid.html

What makes you think hybrid Eric?

yeah i got him last year in a place thats only supposed to have trout and walleye