Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Stocking Rate For Gizzard Shad

I'm thinking of introducing Gizzard shad to my pond that is less than a year old presently 8 acres when it is full should be about 13 acres in East Texas. I've stocked(based on ten acres) 2-4 inch native blue gill,coppernose,red ear,at a total of 1200/acre,channel/blue at 100/acre, 10,000 threadfins(poor delivery condition)20,000 fatheads last fall. Several weeks ago I stocked 500 6-8 inch f1 bass, 60 lbs of Talapia, and 4-6 inch 250 HBS. I'm expecting 10,000 spawning threadfins. The question is should I wait to introduce the gizzard shad when the pond is full or the bass are bigger or stock now and what size and rate? Yes I'm actively fertalizing.Thanks for the Talapia advice they took care of any green algea..........like magic.

LakeL,

I think I was the one who gave you the Tilapia advice and I'm glad they are working for you. They are a great fish.

My 2 cents on gizzard shad:

First, recognize that "conventional" thinking says do not stock gizzard shad in a pond. Reference a very good previous discussion between Bill Cody, the estemed expert herein and myself, the not so estemed regular guy who loves ponds and often challenges conventional thinking, e.g. Tilapia. Read that exchange and you will see the pros and cons...it is a very good discussion. It also mentions several additional studies that you can read about including one reported in Pond Boss.

Having said that, yes, I believe gizzard shad has a place in our ponds...but you need to let your predators attain a good size before stocking the gizzards. That will help prevent the main concern about them which is large gizzards taking over your pond.

I stocked them a year ago. There has been absolutely no problems thus far. I have LMB and a growing population of HSB. They clearly feed on the gizzards. My experiment is ongoing, one year isn't enough data to say definitively that gizzards are good for me or not...but so far so good.

I encourage you to read the discussion I mentioned and make an informed decision.

Thanks ML......yes it was your advice.I plan to stock Talapia every year.........I've read the article you mention and it appears to advice to wait until the bass are 16 inch plus so I'll wait unitl at least next year if not latter.

Following the less then traditional ideas of not stocking Gizzard Shad I to will be stocking them when I have enough larger predators. I have talked to several biologists at the Texas Parks and Wildlife hatcheries in Athens and San Marcos and they have all said stocking gizzards would be good if you have big enough bass to eat them.

I would hold off on stocking them in you situation for a while.

LakeL,

By then, maybe I can give you an update on my own experiment with them. As I said, so far, so good, no evidence at all of any takeover or even existance of large gizzards. I did an electro-survey this spring and only one gizzard showed up about 5 inches or so.

LakeL :

I think if I were in your position I would wait to see what happens between now and the end of the year. I base this on the fact that you have or will have 2 forage species that are prolific summer growers and reproducers tilapia and threadfin . Both will probably die off when it gets cold. If you intend to restock either or both you should have an excellent forage base. By adding gizzards all you are doing is creating the potential for more competition among your forage base fishes . BG/RE are also prolific reproducers as are the fatheads . I think the forage fish you now have will quickly fillup your ponds capacity. With only small predators {bass, HSB and cats} avalible currently to thin the forage base you may be letting the forage fish get to far ahead at least for this summer.

I would wait and evaluate the situation in December and then decide on the best mix of forage fish on an ongoing basis.Good Luck --ewest

Good point........ too many fish has been some cause for my concern as we've had a dry period and my springs have stopped flowing..I need 4 feet of water.....alot of volume to fill the pond........too much biomass during hot weather could result in a fish kill......doubt my fat heads will survive until fall. Bass are the right size to finish them off while hopefully my bream get in a few spawns this summer. My pond is 25 feet deep in some places and has numerous springs so being 2 hours from the gulf cost I think my threadfins will survive.

meadowlark where did you get your gizzard shad? Have you tried threadfin shad?

James,

Yes I tried threadfins..twice..slow learner. The LMB annihilated them both times. Greg Grimes has posted that he has had good success by stocking larger threadfins (mine were small, 1 inchers) that are capable of spawning right away. If I were to try it again, which I'm not, I would insist on the larger threadfins.

Gizzards...you understand there are pros and cons on gizzards? If you have considered those and want to proceed, then I would go slowly at first...about 5 pounds per acre which is what I did a year ago. The recommendation is up to 20 pounds per acre, but I think going slower is better in this case. So far, I have no complaints and no large gizzards threatening to take over my pond...but that could still happpen I guess. The LMB and HSB love them...don't see how gizzards could survive long enough to grow real big in my ponds anyhow.

I purchased mine from Todd Overton, Overton fisheries. He has had gizzards in a rearing pond with predators for several years and has had no problems whatsoever. Call Todd and discuss with him. He's a good guy.

thanks for the information. I had considered cast netting some threadfins for my pond but if you havn't had good luck I probably wouldn't either.