Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Too late to stock?

A cold front is expected this coming weeekend in Fort Worth area. Air temps are predicted to be in the 40's-50's. It's not supposed to last long--cold fronts this time of the year around these parts are short-lived and warmup comes fairly quickly--back into normal ranges of low 60's during the day, 50's at night.
I've been putting off stocking my new pond with forage fish until it caught more water. It's about 5' deep in the 12' end, gradually more shallow toward the banks. It's about 1 acre and I estimate it's 20%-25% of capacity (overall).

I was hoping that we'd get more rain and get it up another foot or so before I stocked the forage fish.

But, now I'm in quandry with mid-November and colder temps approaching within the next 3-4 months.

I've decided to go ahead and stock--IF, IF it's not too late. The water in the pond is still pretty "warm".

Can I go ahead and stock the blue gill, fatheads, and some fingerling channels??
Will the Fh and BG do o.k., spawn, etc. over the winter?
I'm planning on stocking 25 or so LMB in the spring.

Your advice will be appreciated.
g

Glenn,

I'm a bit south of you in East Texas and have a very similar situation in a newly renovated 2 acre pond that isn't full yet. I stocked it with the fatheads and coppernose and grass carp this past weekend and all are doing great. My advise to you is to proceed on and get the forage/food chain stocked as soon as possible.

I don't think your forages will spawn, as the trigger is water temp (experts, correct me if I'm wrong.) But they will grow to some degree and be ready to spawn come springtime.

I'm not sure what you gain by stocking now. They just kinda exist during the winter; neither grow nor spawn. Of course, just because I consider it a questionable idea doesn't mean I wouldn't do it. I probably would.

I kinda figured my window might be closing in terms of expecting 2-3 spawns before spring...

however, as you guys here in Texas know, our weather isn't real predictable this time of year, especially the next couple of months (4-6 weeks).

I agree that the water temp has the most to do with whether a spawn occurs.
You water temp experts chime in:
What's the good, better, best water temp for spawning to take place? Or, what's the temp where it won't take place?

Dave's probably right, in that I probably don't have much to gain by stocking this late in the fall--other than watching a bunch of litle fishies scurry around--Maybe I should just save my money until mid-March.

GlenB,

Here's a couple of reasons to go ahead now, in addition to the possibility of spawning:

1) by stocking forage now, they get fully acclimated/adjusted to your pond and are much better able to defend themselves when the predators are stocked later. Stocking them at the same time leads to mass slaughter...thats my opinion, not necessarily backed by scientific data and
2) fish prices are much better now than in the spring when everyone else is buying.

I agree stock now, I stocked my fatheads and transferred BG from a neighbors pond in November several years ago and had a tremendous spawn in the spring.

Thanks for the advice--I'm going with stocking now.

What do ya'll think the "mix" should be for now, remembering that the 1 acre pond is only about 25% full. I expect it to be full within the next 2-3 weeks.

I've been told this:
250- 3"-5" Bluegill
100- 1"-3" Redear
4#- Fathead minnows
25-30- Channel Cat fingerlings

then in spring add:
4# Golden Shiners
25-1"-5" LMB

One hatchery said I should put the bass and shiners in now. Are they just trying to sell fish?

???--which to use...Native or Florida LMB?

Boy, That is optimistic. I mean expecting it to fill in the next couple of weeks. Might happen. This has been a screwy year on rainfall.

My big concern is usually about water quality. Alkilinity comes from the soil, not from the rain water. I recall that your place is at Weatherford which should be OK. However, you need to wait a couple of weeks for the water to "receive" the alkilinity from the soil. What happens if you don't? Probably nothing real dire. Maybe a fish kill but probably not. It's just money.

I don't really see a problem with your mix. If you really believe in the rain, I'd got with a lot more BG and redears. I would PERSONALLY add more catfish if I expected the rain. They become top line predators that become hard to catch but they are neat to see. Mine are now 3 years old and a couple of weeks ago, I caught a 7 lb. and a couple of 5 pounders on minnows. I really think the best idea on cats is to wait until spring and stock 10 to 12 inchers instead of the 3 to 4 inch ones. The larger stockers just seem to run away with growth.

I would also go with LMB that are closer to 5" than 1". One inch fish of any kind are bait. No way I would put lmb in now. Ask the fish sellers how many cows they would put on a newly planted pasture. I believe that when you put in bass, the forage base should be so heavy that the bass can fall asleep with it's mouth open and wake up with a full belly.

I have heard a lot of pro and con about shiners in small bodies of water, mostly con. They tend to be nest robbers. I'm not aware that they have a higher protien count than bluegill.