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

Hello to everyone...Just joined up today, and threw some $chips into the pot, so I am not going to be shy about asking questions

Mid-Michigan pond built to 4.2 acres....spring fed ..21ft deep end to 2ft shallow bay.
2 aerator compressors with 5 diffusers. The deep hole where the main spring is not crowded by them as we would like to not create any turnover if that's possible ?
Trying to create a cold water fishery.

Our goal is to stock if we can ? Walleye/ perch/ with a few SMB, Trout, and a few HBG

First thing we did was to build 9 minnow castles 4-5 pallets weighted down by 100lb. Blocks with pine bows jammed throughout the structure...placed them between 3-6 ft of water around key locations..Also burried tree stumps, logs, and rock piles near ledges created in the construction. The land consisted of a very thick bluish molding clay which was used to pack the shallow end where we had silt/sand/ clay mix...the deep end was medium course gravel..near the main springs.

The first stocking will be approximately in two weeks, and will consist of FHM only.
Looking for a lbs. per acre formula from you experts here !

Also any time/ numbers/ species constraints going forward ....suggestions please ?

Also have considered supplemental Pelletized feeding if warranted ?

I appreciate all who would be willing to contribute !

Thank you & regards !

Tim

Hello welcome. I always stock 20 lbs of fhm per acre in new ponds. Its almost impossible to have to many FHM as they will be the main forage for the first year. I also always wait at least one whole year so they reproduce several times. If you can afford it i would stock 100 lbs and wait a year. I would also throw in some Golden Shiners. Then hand feed them crushed pellets aquamax 500 or 600. Just my opinion and what I always do.

Question about the FHM ....Hatchery I am looking to use sells them by the gallon ?

Is there a common conversion as in lbs./ gallon ?

Welcome aboard Tim...

Lbs per acre formula is not important unless you have a time frame in mind. You want to leave them multiply until you can walk across the water on them before you stock predators. The less you put in, the longer that may take.

I would feel the REALLY important thing is to get them from a VERY REPUTABLE dealer. You don't want any hitch-hikers in the mix that will just eat them all and cause stocking headaches down the road. Even from a reputable dealer, it is a good idea to sort thru them yourself to make sure. If you do this, large quantities at a time are hard to go thru.

I've got a hatchery in close proximity in mind...Stoney Creek here in Michigan.
I've had a few people tell me they are very reputable, and try as much as possible to guarentee purity.

I sure hope someone can give me some advise on how many of the predator/ forage species I could stock. As well as anyone who has tried to create a cold water fishery.
The excavator's had me put my hand in the spring water that was coming out of the deep hole when they where digging at 17-21 ft depth...my hand went numb around 30 seconds...the head is tremendous as they had to use a large diesel pump with a 10 inch pipe/ hose in order to get the last part of he deep end completed...the project was completed around July 19th, and the pond is about 5 ft. Below full capacity.

How long do you plan to let the forage fish in the pond before stocking predators?

There are around 8 lbs of FHM per gallon. Numbers per gallon will depend on the size of the minnows. In fall the minnows tend to be smaller than those purchased in spring. FHM at 1.5" will have close to 500-600/lb whereas 2.25" FHM will have around 220-250/lb. 2.5" has abt 125-150/lb.

My biggest concern with stocking massive numbers of FHM like that is this... FHM often have unwanted hitchhikers mixed in with them. Bullheads, BG, LMB, carp, goldfish, the list goes on and on. When stocking FHM with unwanted hitchhikers into an empty pond, invariably, it only takes two of an unwanted species with no predators and abundant food, they multiply fast. By the time you get predators in, they are well established and can really mess things up.

FHM are extremely prolific. Stocking just a few hundred which can be easily hand sorted to prevent unwanted hitchhikers is my recommendation. Be patient, let them multiple and you'll be fine. When you stock the initially SMB and WE, add a hundred or two hundred larger, say 4"+ GSH and you'll be in good shape.

With a pond of that size, I think you can grow some quality SMB and WE. Just be patient and stock the appropriate numbers of each species at the correct time.

Good advice so far and let me add I was encouraged to add Bluntnose minnows and Spotfin shiners. Very happy I did as six yrs later they are here but no FH after one month of HSB.I way over stocked the HSB tho. Have you researched spawning structures for your different forage? It's hard but the be patient thing is true and then all of a sudden your pond is four yrs old with some really nice fish. Keep askin and good luck.

Iam not really sure ?
I guess that would depend on if the perch would ever be able to hammer the predator fish if we let them be long enough to get to that size...If that's even possible ?
Which Ill admit ignorance to.
I do know the jumbos can get to decent size, Iam just not sure if the lake has sufficient depth, and or size to harbor/raise a 12 to 14 inch perch?
The 4.2 acres has a depth of over 8 ft to 20ft range in a majority of the area ..The shallow wildlife area is approximately 1.5 acres, and has a depth between 2-4 ft on average.

Cecil grew a Yellow Perch in his pond that was 16 1/4" long and 2.81# and his pond is 10'-12' deep and 5/8 acre. So, water quality, available forage and low stress is a greater factor than the size of the BOW.

Congrats on your project, and welcome to the forum J Hooey! Love your fishery plans, I too have a cool water species fishery in a couple of my ponds.

I agree with Travis 100%. Consider stocking smaller numbers of FHM to allow you to hand sort and postively ID, especially when SMB/WE fisheries are concerned which are far more susceptible to negative affects of inadvertant stocking of invasive species [BG, BH, BG all could alter the fishery considerably]. Stock a few hundred FHM now, add some other forage like Grass Shrimp, Crayfish, a shiner species and another minnow species and wait until next fall to stock any apex predators like SMB or WE. YP stocking could be done next Spring or Summer, especially if you are pellet feeding to take pressure off the forage base. Consider the HBG idea - they will interbreed over many generations will revert to nearly 100% GSF genetics - could impact your fishery goals in a negative way. Think about an alternate sunfish species like RES or maybe RBS.

Hey Tim, what county in MI?

Stony Creek is a decent place. Right around the MKG river from me. Crystal Springs also seems to be decent. A couple of the guy's here from IN get their Trout from CS.

Here is a link to a PDF that lists all the fish farms in MI and what they have, at least what's on their registration documents.

MI Fish Farms

Quite a few of the farms buy their WE from an operation in the UP (Chippewa Co.). That's why the pre paid order, and fall delivery. These will not be pellet trained.

Glad you are here, and keep us posted on your progress.

TJ - probably HBG because that's what most offer. I put the link up for Tim so he could do more research on others suggestions.

Eaton county...and thanks for the directory...I've also been told Laggis is a pretty good one ?

Yep. Dan has feed trained fish. I've gotten SMB, LMB and YP from him.