Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose When and what to stock

I just built a 2 acre pond in west central Illinois last October. The pond probably has a little less than an acre of water in it right now and is around 10 feet deep at its deepest. It will be around 18 feet deep at its deepest when full. I’d like to get some fish started in it but I’m not sure if I should just wait for it to get full to put anything other than fathead minnows in it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I’m looking to have LMB, BG, RES and some CC. I might put some other types of fish in later on down the road.

You already have enough water to put in your fathead minnows now. Probably a good idea to get those started.

Unfortunately, stocking fish is not quite like going to Walmart where every item is always in stock. Have you researched your local fish suppliers yet? They may have already sold out their spring stocking fish.

If they still have BG and RES perhaps try to stock those this spring? There are actual fish stocking and management experts on the forum so hopefully they will pop in and give you a good plan for your stocking schedule and sizes.

What are your main goals for the fishery? If you add that information, then they will be able to give you some better advice.

P.S. Have you seeded in your groundcover yet? You need to do that ASAP on all of your bare dirt so thunderstorms don't wash any sediment back into your pond.

Congrats on your new pond. I hope you have great fun with it!

If you have one acre of water, I would add some bluegills and a feeder. An acre is a lot of water. After the bluegills spawn a couple of times, add bass.

I’ve reached out to Herman Brothers in Hanna City and I don’t think getting fish will be an issue. I just didn’t know if it would be better to wait on the pond to hopefully fill completely over the summer then stock BG and RES next fall and LMB and CC in spring of 26 or just go ahead and put all the bait fish in this spring and the predators in the fall? I’ve been told to stock for the water I have and I have also been told to stock for what will be there so I don’t know how to proceed. I’m perfectly fine with just stocking FHM this spring and waiting on everything else if that would be better in the long run. As far as goals I just want a place to go catch a good variety of fish and be able to have some to eat. Down the road I may be interested in trophy fish but not at this time.

You can stock now. Austin or Nate will set you up correctly. Just ask them for advice on stocking to align with your fishery goals. They might have some options for you that you never considered. We will swap fish back and forth depending who has what. I'd ask them what they recommend for your area, you probably could go with something different than the traditional LMB/BG/RES/CC pond if you wanted to.

We gave our prey (fathead minnows, bluegill, shell cracker) a 6 month head start on our bass and in hindsight I'm really glad we did. Our feeder is currently swarming with bluegill of all sizes and when I walk around the pond I can see bluegill in nearly every inch of shallow water.

Creating an all you can eat buffet for your bass takes some patience but is well worth the wait.

My main concern is not getting the right number of fish in there. If I stock for the water that is there now it will hopefully double in the next few months and then wouldn’t I be under stocked? Also wondering how much food is in there for the little fish to eat since it is basically just murky water right now. I had thought about minnows now and then pan fish in the fall and predators a year from now. Any idea what bonus fish might be able to work in there if it is 15+ ft deep in 1/2 an acre?

Follow the Herman Brothers for advice. BE sure to tell them you mentioned them on Pond Boss so they give you the best fishery advice and don't just sell you fish for a quick profit. The only thing I would put in now would be FHM maybe some golden shiners WITH appropriate spawning habitat for both species. Add the rest of the fish in fall or next spring unless Herman' disagree and find out why it conflicts with PBoss info.

Have you considered a feeder for the bait fish? Guaranteed boost in food. We have one and absolutely love seeing the results....it's like having piranhas.

I would consider a feeder if I was around all the time but I’m currently living about 4 hours away. I think I’m set on just putting 15 pounds of fatheads in there for now and then put some other prey fish in this fall. Hopefully by then it’s full and I’ll feel better about exactly how much water I’ve got to work with.

Drop have you checked PH …. Lime if needed will help clear water pretty fast so that fish can find the food easier than in chocolate

So true, right now, before the pond is full they can back a lime truck down into what will be the edge of the pond probably and spread a bunch of lime that way, I had that done and know of others that have had it done that way.

That’s what we did also…. Worked fine

I went ahead and just put 15 lbs of fhm in last week. Hopefully it will fill over the summer and I can put some BG and RES in this fall. The water has cleared up on its own.