I think this may be a good time to comment about the status of TGW1's lake progress:
We have stocked the fathead minnows, redear sunfish, coppernose bluegill, all as small size 1-3" fish. With the coppernose bluegill I was lucky enough to have some 4"-6" brooder size thread fin shad mixed in. Almost forgot, also 5 lbs of tilapia LOL.
I don't intend to specify the numbers that have been stocked, but TGW1 can if he wants to. I will say that we intended to stock many more threadfins than we were able to acquire, and I am sorry about that. This shad pond has few reserve CB Broodstock (to keep em fat) that apparently spawned last year, and there were few camelot bell fingerlings in the mix. These are impossible to pick out 100% in the short time that is required to handle threadfin shad. If your shad order had been intended for an existing bass lake then this mix would have been a BONUS!!. But since you are starting fresh and building baitfish, we had to throw in the towel on this particular deal for fear of trashing the program.
My two other shad ponds experienced winter kill this year, unfortunately, as they were smaller size shad in shallow ponds 4' deep. The larger shad seem to handle the cold better. I watched crows all winter long hauling off struggling shad. I am devoting 3 ponds to thread fin shad production this spring, and small shad from this program will be available by July time frame. These will be yours, TGW1, if you still want em by that time.
This is a critical time to tell you, TGW1, that in some ways, the ball is in your court right now. In my opinion, the most important thing you should be thinking about right now is plankton. With abundant plankton, all of these baitfish will expand population by leaps and bounds. I have seen farm pond production of 50k-100k coppernose bluegill or threadfin shad per surface acre. This kind of production is possible in a new pond, starting from scratch, with good water quality and a plankton bloom. Walt said your pond was really looking good, and so I think you are on the right track. Watch out for submerged aquatic vegetation and algae. Nip it in the bud as soon as you see it pop up, because you want all available nutrients to feed plankton. If you are getting a bloom with inorganic fertilizer then proceed and monitor visibility. If you aren't getting a plankton bloom, and don't have weed or algae problems, don't be afraid to ask me about some organic fertilizers. I also recommend you apply for your grass carp permit and stock a few grass carp per acre to PREVENT submerged aquatic vegetation problems.
By June you should have spoils of baitfish. Proceed with 100% camelot bell fingerlings as planned. If you become a baitfish farmer (manage for plankton production), maintain good water quality, feed pellets, control water weeds/algae, then I would not be surprised by some bass over 10lbs in three years time. Managing submerged weeds and algae is critical for maintaining steady progress.
I can't wait to watch what you do with this lake over time..
