I called the local Co-op today to see when the fish truck would be coming, it's going to be here tomorrow!!! (And might not be back until Fall) I wasn't really ready to stock, but am thinking about getting some fish now while I can.
My pond is .36 acre, will eventually be 7'-8' deep, and is about half full. The bottom slopes to deep holes on the dam side so part of the bottom is already 4' deep. The water level is stable and going up with every rain so I'm not too worried about it dropping off real bad this Summer. The water is somewhat muddy, but not terribly so. (Grass is not well established on the banks yet)
There is a smaller forage pond 50 yards below the main one. It will eventually be 5' deep but doesn't have enough water in it yet for fish. I talked to the company that is sending the fish truck tomorrow and they recommended catfish, bluegill (hybrid and/or coppernose) and fatheads tomorrow. They recommended not putting any bass at all in a pond this small, but said if I was going to stock them anyways to wait until Fall. I want redears but there won't be any on the truck tomorrow.
I was thinking about tomorrow getting 2 lbs. of fatheads, 15 or so channel cats, and 50 coppernose to start. Will it be ok to put these fish in now? If so I would stock more of the same species this fall in addition to some LMB, RES, and more fatheads in both the main pond and forage pond. There are no fish at all in the pond now, just a few bugs and frogs.
Here's a pic of the pond ... the water level is about a foot higher now than in this pic, and there is now some grass on the banks:
