Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose New pond is it too soon?

So my freshly dug pond (3 weeks old) has just filled up with some fall rains. It is 12 inches from the over flow culvert and I want to stock it before the ice comes. After reading some stuff on here I was thinking...

FHM and BG immediately,

Then in the spring I will catch LMB from the lake and put some in. My questions are...

Does this plan sound ok? if so How many FHM and BG do I put in and can I put them in right away? Is there some time period I have to wait to let the rain water acclimate?

How many LMB can I put in next spring? When is the best time to put them in?

My pond is 2010 square yards or .41 acres and is 7 feet deep with gradual grade to 4 feet then eventually up to 1 foot by the inlet.

Looking for some advice, I put some of these questions in another post but realized its better suited for this forum. Any info is appreciated, this is my first pond.

Thanks all!

Suggest you see the manuals for stocking Northern ponds wrt BG and LMB.

I would stock FHM and Golden Shiners immediately wait till spring to stock the BG. If all possible wait another whole year and buy fingerling LMB. If you stock bass out of the lake there won't be enough forage for them and they will starve and die.

I stocked BG, LMB, and CC right after my pond filled. Take KSBASS's advice! My new pond is being stocked with forage first. Is 7ft deep sufficient in your area?

Standard advice from Fisheries (agencies and pros) up north is stock FH , GShiners etc first , then LMB then BG.

First off thanks for all the replies so far.

Ewest, what are these manuals you are speaking about?

I will stock with FHM and see if I can get a few shiners today!

7 Feet is all I have, unfortunately there's only another couple feet of clay, then rock. I have the culvert set at 7'6" after that it starts to flood my lawn.

The ice will probably freeze about 12-24 inches on a bad year. That leaves me with about 5'6" to 6'6". I am planning to aerate it with some bubble line and a good compressor and I am hoping this will be enough.

Here is one from Penn - see archives,

Stocking bass-bluegill ponds
When small bass and bluegills of the
same age were stocked simultaneously
in Alabama, balanced populations
always resulted. When this
stocking strategy was followed in the
North, the result nearly always was
a stunted bluegill population and
a bass population unable to spawn
successfully. Research at Cornell
University showed that to achieve
successful bass-bluegill populations
in northern states, the initial stocking
must consist of bass that are at least 1
year older than the bluegills. This can
be achieved by stocking yearling bass
1 year ahead of yearling bluegills or
combining 2-year-old bass (over 6
inches) with yearling bluegills less
than 2 inches long. Researchers currently
believe that the proper number
of fingerling fish to stock is 100 bass
and 200 to 500 bluegills per surface
acre. This stocking strategy has been
shown to be successful in Pennsylvania
ponds.

See the archives

State Mgt Books links

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=113216#Post113216

Here is SD see pg 39

http://www.sdstate.edu/nrm/outreach/pond/upload/Managing-SD-Ponds.pdf

Stocking northern and southern ponds is very different. If you give BG a big jump start on LMB up north, you are going to most likely end up with a heavily stunted BG population and under performing LMB.

Stocking FHM first with GSH giving them some time to build numbers, then add LMB, allow them to get some some size, say 8"-10" then stock BG. This should lead to a quality northern fishery.

Growth rates are very different from north to south so advice that is well suited for a more southern pond can be detrimental to a northern one.

Wow that's a ton of information, guess I will save this for a rainy day so to speak!

For now I'll stick with minnows until spring. I was even thinking of a couple medium size northern pike (approx 20"), once the minnow population blossoms. Anybody know if they would completely demolish the feeder population?

Yes, in a pond that size they would. Do a search on northern pike and check out past discussions on them here. The results would be unlikely to meet your expectations...

Plus having large predator fish in the pond makes it VERY hard to stock other fish unless you can source fish that are large enough to prevent the pike from eating the stockers.

I think we earned our pay on this one guys. Good info !

My best advice is be very patient let the forage base grow as much as possible like a entire year.

Thanks again for all the advice, this Forum is awesome. Take care all!