Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Suggestions on adding to existing pond please.

Hello out there, this is my first day on the site. My name is Jack Horn and I'm a paramedic in East Texas. Nice deal you guys have going here. My family and I have just purchased a new place with a 1 acre pond that is 10 feet deep at its deepest. The previous owners put several big large mouth bass that they caught elsewhere, a bunch of them full of eggs they say in the pond as well as crappie. I don't want crappie in the pond and plan to fish them out completely if they are in there. What we do want is a good all around fish catching fishery. Bream, bass, and catfish. I have done alot of reading and based off of all the research I've done thus far am leaning towards trying to add larger forage from the beginning as opposed to small fingerlings so as not to have to start all over with the bass. I downloaded pdf that suggested 50 bass, 375 bluegill, 125 red ear sunfish and 50 channel cats to get started in a 1 acre pond. I plan to assess the bass population adjust it accordingly if they are skinny and over populated and add 375 3-6 " bluegill, 125 4-5" red ear sunfish, 50 8-11" channel cats , 10lbs of fathead minnows and 5 -10 pounds of golden shiners. I'm thinking that with thinning out the bass provided there are too many and going with these slightly larger stockers for forage combined with the surge of minnows to take some pressure off of my sunnies and bluegill initially this may work. Suggestions or comments please? More fish than this for a 1 acre 10 ft deep pond or is this plan ok? Also, I plan to feed but there will be times where it can't be fed every single day due to me working 24 hour shifts sometimes 2 in a row. But plan to feed them some everyday I can.

Welcome Jack
What part of east Texas? I'm close to Oakwood/Buffalo area. I think I would see what ya got in there before adding anything. Those big LMB can and will wolf down a lot of what you want to put in. Overton Fishery can help you figure out what you have by electroshock if that's in your budget

Lots of good helpful folks on here that will help you along on the journey.

If you are going to feed, just plan on buying a feeder. Or at least leave room in the budget for one relatively soon. You can hand feed at first, but it will get old, you won't always be there, and the fish like it the same time every day. Not many of us keep that regular of a schedule. You can fill the feeder, and not mess with it for weeks on end. Done and done.

There have been many on here that have tried to eradicate crappie in there pond, and I think 99% have not been able to do it. It's a tough go.

Have fun with the journey.

I second getting in touch with Overton's. They know their stuff and will treat you like family.

You should call Bob "the Pond Boss".

Pat, I'm in Panola county

Jack, welcome to Pond Boss. My pond is near Hallsville, not too distant from you.

I've worked with both Bob "Pondboss" Lusk and the Overtons. Either choice is excellent. The only variable tends to be how busy they are.

Welcome Jack, I am N of Marshall and Nw of Waskom.