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

i bought a home with a .8 acre pond. got the duckweekd all cleaned up with help from ted lea (and floridone) and he also got me fixed up with parts so i can build my own aerator. everything is looking much better.

as far as i can tell i have no fish.

i want to start thinking about stocking. the goal here is to just get some fish in there so maybe i can take fishing up someday or just a place for my buddies to hang out and fish. mostly catch and release. everyone is pushing me toward large mouth bass, redear, cat, and bluegill.

sound about right?

on a side note...my neighbor has thrown in some channel and yellow belly catfish from the stillwater river in ohio near my home. they were pretty huge. problem is, i have seen a lot of them floating ever since. not sure if they all died or just a bunch of them. not sure if i need to be first trying to find out if my pond has a problem.

thanks adam

How deep is the pond? I would question why so many catfish died. I've always found channels to be pretty hardy. I'd measure the depth and have the water tested if it were me. Sometimes an old pond will silt in over the years and may not be as deep as you think. Any Walnut trees near the pond?

no walnut trees. the pond average is 5.5. deepest is 9.

thanks.

Do a water test for pond water that can be helpful to get to know about the issue.