Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Creating the food chain 1/2 acre pond in ny food chain?

aetain:

I'm sorry that I couldn't answer your question in more detail sooner. I was with clients today answering their questions about their ponds. They actually pay me money to answer their questions (who would have thunk?). I like having money to pay my bills, so I had to do that rather than stay by the computer.

If you don't have habitat in the pond to support your fish population, then no matter how perfect your fish stocking strategy is, it won't work. Fish don't do well living in a bathtub. Your forage fish won't have the correct habitat to spawn, and you won't have the correct habitat for the YOY fish to grow. No, I'm not going to go into details on what habitat to put in the pond. There is a whole thread in the archives that will tell you that. I don't mean to be rude, but like was said earlier, there are pond consultants that will come to your place and lay out a complete pond strategy if that is what you want vs. learning about how to do it yourself. (and yes, I'm one of them)

I can't and won't give you stocking strategy for the CP pond. I haven't managed any ponds with CP in them and don't want to give you a wrong answer.

Here's the LMB/BG pond stocking strategy that I would tell a client of mine if they asked.
So, here’s the LMB pond:
1/2 acre pond.

low side 37.5 LMB / 562.5 - 1,125 BG

High Side 50 LMB / 750 - 1,500 BG
(Thanks BobbyRice)
10# GSH
10# FHM
If you have the habitat for the crayfish to survive LMB predation (I’d go with at least 1/4th of the shoreline from waters edge down to 10 deep in 8” -10” dia rip-rap at least 2, preferably 3 rocks thick, then I’d stock 500 3”-4” Papershell crayfish. If you don’t have the habitat for them, then don’t stock them.

I’d make 20% of the Bluegill numbers RES. You do the math for number of fish that is.

If you want YP, I’d recommend 40-50.

I wouldn’t recommend stocking CC. Same with the daphnia.

All fish are fingerling size, with the exception of GSH and FHM. Get what sizes are available.

Stock the GSH, FHM, & Papershells 6-8 months before stocking the other fish to let them multiply.