I, like Dave Davidson and ESSHUP, am 100% for starting over.

The fish kill you experienced a while back could be due to several factors that happen to ponds and lakes every once in a while. Frequently it is due to a "turn over" where the good water at the top gets replaced with the bad water at the bottom. The bottom water has little oxygen and it has other toxic nasties from decaying aerobic materials. A cold rain, especially with wind and/or a cold front, is all that is needed to turn your pond water upside down. There are other causes for fish kills too, but that is probably one of the most prevalent.

I just hate to see anyone add flatheads, bluecats, or bullheads to a pond. The size of your pond is probably on the border line size for whether or not crappie are a good idea.

If as you mentioned, you are willing to put in 1 lb. feed trained bass bass and 1 lb. channel cats, you are well on your way. I'm just not sure I would recommend adding as many channel cats as you are thinking about.

As I've said many times here on the forum, I have a real love/hate relationship with channel cats. I always suggest going light on the channel cat stocking quantities. They are really easy to grow. They grow really fast. They are fun to catch. They are great to eat and will substitute in recipes for many other high-end saltwater or freshwater fillets. Unfortunately, as they get larger than about 2 pounds, they become troublemakers in a pond, plus they get hookshy and hard to catch, if not impossible to catch. They become the top-line predators in your pond, competing hard with your bass.

I don't have a problem with the numbers you are proposing -- but I'd spread that out over about 3 years, with 1/3 of that quantity per year. Maybe double the quantity of fish you plan to harvest the next year. That will still give you plenty of fun and good eating. At the end of those three years you can re-evaluate how many more you need to restock each year.

We have a long time friend and PB member here on the forum, in Texas, who stocked too many in a pond/lake that is probably about your pond size, maybe bigger. He has been fighting that decision for a number of years.

Any channel cat much more than a pound should not be released after hooking, as they have very long memories. But, they will also make a great meal.

You really should include some forage fish for the bass and the channel cats, even though they may primarily be pellet eaters. I'll let some of the others address that.

Lastly, there are other great fish to add to a pond. Being in Texas, think hard about adding Hybrid Striped Bass. Like the channel catfish, they readily take food. They grow really fast. The fight nearly till they die, so most shouldn't be thrown back. They are incredibly delicious to eat. They don't cause a lot of problems.

I've gotta go to dinner. I'm sure a few others will pipe in with good ideas.

Welcome to the forum,
Ken

Subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine

Peculiar Friends are Better than No Friends at All!