Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Corrective stocking New pond have bg wanting to add coppernoses

Its one acre and I've stock 350 "northern" bg, 150 redear, 100 c-cat, & 1000 fatheads last spring. My family LOVES to bg fish more then anything. I feed, have a great algae bloom, have lots of cover, and will aerate. What I've see is that 500-1000 bg/re at 80/20% is the stocking rate per acre. So I'm on the low side for bg because I only have 67% bg of a 500 total.
With all that said I'm also convinced I want coppernose bg and a correct mix of fish. This fall I want to stock 400 2-4" fish 350 coppernose and 50 re. This gives me 900 total, an 80/20% mix, equal number of coppernose & northern bluegill, and I'll add my 100 F1 bass next June which is all recommended right?
Also is there anything wrong with adding more bg to my pond this fall and how big should they be?

I recently stocked a new 3 acre lake in Indiana. I also wanted to put coppernose bg in my lake. After searching this site and others, I found that this might be too far north for coppernose bg. Anything north of Nashville TN is risky and you are probably better to stock native bg. If you stock the Coppernose bg and have success or anyone else that has (in Indiana), post a reply.

I've been talking to Dan Suttle at Suttle Fish Farm and he said they've had luck with "Farms in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin have raised the Coppernose Bluegill well over one pound." Which it says on his web site.???

http://www.suttlefish.com/coppernose2.html

Barry Smith a fish biologist and another hatchery owner said this in an interview:
Question: Now the coppernose, if it goes north, even though it is a southern fish, will it still exhibit a superior growth rate to the common bluegill?
Answer: That's a good question. Coppernoses aren't sensitive to low temperatures. So, based on the data that's available, I would say that there's no difference in the temperature factor in coppernose and common bluegills. But I don't recommend stocking coppernoses to anyone north of the Mason Dixon Line. I think that it is too far from its native range to do well.
Question: What bluegill do you recommend for northern fishermen to stock?
Answer: I think the common bluegill probably will be more suitable. These fish are different throughout the United States. For example, common bluegills are different in Illinois than they are in Alabama. Those fish have adapted to that area, and the fish that have adapted to that area will do better than fish will bring in from a different area.

http://www.nighthawkpublications.com/journal/journal164-5.htm

My ponds in southern Indiana which is actually farther south of the original Mason-Dixon Line.
http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa041999.htm?once=true&

We�re in the same �planting zone� as almost the entire states of Kentucky and Virginia.
I figure I�ll have the best of both worlds a northern bluegill that spawns three times and is easier to catch and trophy size bluegill that from what understand will survive just find up north or south of the Mason Dixon Line depending how you look at it.
I'm putting coppernose bluegill in my pond this fall. I'm just wanting to make sure I get the right size and number.

I once saw a study that was done in Texas. They compared growth rates betweem common BG, coppernose, and hybrids. The common BG was the growth winner. I stocked commons because I also read that Coppernose sometimes don't make it in certain ponds but nobody knew why. Don't have the information available to support either of these studies.

How will Coppernose do further North? Maybe you can write a paper in a couple of years. Good luck and have fun.

I put my order in for the 450 Coppernose bg and 50 re for this fall. That will give me 50% split on bg and 80/20 on bg and re. My initial stocking this spring last low I guess my hatchery under estimated my involvement with the pond with feeding, testing the water, and fertilizing when needed.
I will stock 100 F1 2-4" bass next spring.

It might take a few years and I feel pretty confident about it, but we'll see how it goes.