The post from northeastern Texas sparked a flurry of practical advice on stocking. Keep it coming. This is a healthy exchange that supports the very core mission of Pond Boss as a public meeting place for fishing pond owners and managers.

Fisheries biologists on the Pond Boss Field Advisory Staff recommend stocking the forage species BEFORE the bass, so they can get established and spawn before introducing the predators. Here comes the judge!

The American Fisheries Society recommendations:

In an unfertilized new pond that will have minimal harvest pressure, stock 500 forage fingerlings per surface acre.

In a fertilized pond where the bluegill population will be subjected to harvest (a healthy tactic), biologists will go with up to 1,000/acre.

The Field Advisory Staff also bumps upward the stocking rate in a pond where the bluegill, redear and other forage are fed a high-protein fish pellet.

Mark McDonald
Editor, Pond Boss