Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose odd inquiry for those of y'all on large properties

Sometimes people don't realize just how many bluegill a single bass needs to eat to grow, and they stock too many bass, or too few bluegill or CNBG in the beginning. If the goal was to grow big bass, I'd have recommended stocking 50 bass and 3,000 CNBG or Bluegill per surface acre. It will be interesting to see what was actually stocked.

To the OP: The problem with stocking 3+# LMB, is that they don't know the pond and don't know where the best place is to hang out and be successful catching fish to eat. You may see that they lose weight after being stocked. I'd first spend my $$ getting the pond electroshocked to see how the forage to predator numbers are. If the forage base isn't large enough, then you are wasting money putting in larger LMB - they won't grow. If the pond is fished frequently, and bass caught and released, they may already be getting hook shy. Electroshocking will also show you the fish that aren't interested in biting on a lure.

It will also stun the BG/CNBG to show you how they are doing.

What was the original stocking numbers and sizes of fish that were stocked? How big is the tank/pond (surface acre wise)? What is in there for cover for the LMB to sit and ambush their prey?