Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Bass - when and how many?

I have heard the other stories, did some reading and would like to hear your personal opinions.

New 1/2 acre Pond - southern Indiana - 10 ft. deep
- built in sept of 2006 - full since march of 2007-

stocked now about

180 blue gill
100 red ear
30 channel catfish
1000 fathead minnows

Should I put the Largemouth Bass in this fall around October or wait until next Spring, how many, 50?

PL, 180 BG is kinda short so I would wait until next Spring.

On the bass numbers, I like to be conservative. If you only add 25, they will grow bigger without competition. And, since they will spawn, it will delay the need to manage bass overcrowding.

PL, I agree with Dave about 180 being short. I would think that you could easily handle 350-400. My 2.5 acre pond was initially stocked last fall with 1500 1-3" native BG. Then another 100 4" BG this spring to boost the spawn rate. I would put even more in if it did'nt cost multi-$100's everytime the fish truck came.

I too am pondering the timing of the initial bass stock. My goal is to have a smogasboard for them when the time comes. OK, I admit... There are now 5, 7" LMB (future lunkers). I hope I don't get my fingers rapped with a ruler on this one but I am considering slowly introducing more yearling 7" LMB later in the Summer through next Spring. I have a good friend that is over run with them and wants me to take as many as I need. I have to catch them with a rod, so it will end up being about 5-10 per week. I expect my final LMB stock tally to be around 100-125. I welcome any constructive critisizm on my methods and totals.

PL, how big are the BG & RES? IF they are large enough to spawn this Summer, there should be beau coup forage for SMALL LMB stockers this Fall. For intermediate stockers, wait til next year. "A bass should fall asleep with his mouth open and wake up with his belly full" - now where have I heard that?

DD, remember the BG:Bass ratio up North is frequently half of that recommened down South. If PL wants to manage for big bream or a more balanced fishery, I like 50 LMB. If he wants to manage for large bass, 25 is OK. Although what do you think of stocking 50 and then culling the slow growers over the first couple of years?

I put in 100 BG and 100 RES which I bought from a local fish farm, they were the 3" variety. I also stocked 25 Hybrid BG, just for fun, the fish farm guy said they were 85% male fish and more aggressive biters (not sure if there is truth to this) I also bought the 30 CC and the 1000 FHM from him.

Then, my family and I caught 55 BG (4" and 5") from an overstocked pond on my grandfathers homestead and released them into my new pond.

I was worried about overstocking, the fish farm guy said 250 BG and RES are good in a 1/2 acre pond, said they will reproduce a couple times over this summer and told me to stock the LMB this October which will fatten up on the young BG and RES along with the FHM.

I'm considering putting in about 50 more 4" to 5" BG from the overstocked pond on my grandfathers.

Also, on a side note, I began feeding my fish in the new pond. Overall, I have put in about 15 lbs of food, I've got a few hits from the BG and RES, but pretty much I'm just seeing the FHM going crazy over the food, although they are not big enough to eat the pellets whole, they just nip them. Is this normal?

I think the 4" to 5" transferred BG will likely spawn this year. Watch the shallows around the edges this Summer/early Fall, you should see baby BG, taller and more oval than FHM.

I think I like the mixed size bream stocking - it should give you effectively 3 year classes at the end of 2007.

What size LMB are you thinking of stocking?

WRT low bream feeding activity in a newly stocked pond - if not "normal" at least typical or not unusual.

6" LMB, do you have a different recommendation for LMB size?

PL-
I just started feeding this spring, took 6 weeks to see any real BG activity at the feeder, only now after about 8wks and much warmer temps are they really starting to feed noticably.

I'd guess you're right on schedule.

yolk, how often do you feed em'?

I started with 3 seconds 3X/day[Aquapro 75]-that was definitely WAY too much [because nothing was eating anything]; dropped to 1 second at dawn/dusk until some feeding evident, and now at 2 seconds 3X/again. Food is gone in about 20"; for the first 5-10 minutes the BG seem a little intimidated by the HSB and cats, but as the feed disperses they get more involved.

It seems to that your idea of adding mature BG is a great one, especially if you're going to stock six inch LMB this fall. Even if they grow tremendously you'll have a good base in place for next spring/summer.

6" LMB is fine. ANY size is fine, as long as you have the proper sized forage base in place when they go in. Really rich guys can stock 3-5 lbs bass (and the adult BG to feed them); most of us have to grow our own.

One vote for being able to stock 25 to 50 6" LMB this Fall, BG spawning having demonstratively occurred this Summer (freely given and worth every penny!).

Theo, I think culling LMB in a 1/2 acre pond can be easier said than done. Those suckers can quickly get hook shy and make you work your butt off to get them out. I think it is easier to increase their numbers than it is to decrease them. Been there/done that in a 3/8 acre water hole that I ruined.

I should have asked PL about his goals and have just taken a ruler to my knuckles for the proverbial rap.

Pl has a tremendous resource for the BG since his Grandfathers place has too many of them.

Blaine, I see no problem with your LMB methods other than a couple of standard cautions.

Are they disease free? Probably are.

Second, are you already introducing stunted fish that will never reach their potential? This can be tricky to determine.

No argument about that.

Got a lot of scar tissue built up on those knuckles? All mine is where I kick myself.

Davidson, how did you you ruin a 3/8 acre water hole? What happened?

I want to make sure I do things the right way.

What kind of pond goals do I have?

1st and foremost, I'm a BG/RES type of guy, I love catching those things and they taste delicious!

2nd, I'd love to catch a few trophy Bass now and then, one goal is to catch a nice LMB out of my pond for the wall, I'd love to have a trophy bass on my basement wall, knowing how involved I was in "making" that fish happen, all the hard work, management, etc..

3rd, I enjoy going out each summer a couple times on those hot muggy nights with a 6 pack of cold beer and catch about 5-10 Catfish with liver.

This evening, I brought my gear with me to work, I plan on catching about 50 more of those 4" to 5" BG and picking up a truck load of old concrete cinder blocks from a building we took down at Grandpa's place. After dumping this block pile into the pond and 50 more BG, I'll be just about satisfied with structure and fish I have introduced for the spring.

Still debating on the LMB this fall or next Spring...unless anyone thinks it's a bad idea for whatever reason(maybe too early?) I'll go with Theo's advice and put them in this fall. I guess the key with that being that I confirm BG/RES spawning this summer, right Theo?

I really appreciate all the advice guys, please keep it coming.

Sounds doable, especially if you

1]plan on feeding, as you are

2]plan on selectively harvesting, especially of a lot of pansized green carp, and mid sized BG-those that might be a little too big for your bass, but not what you'd consider optimal for yourself.

3]are open to further stocking of forage if needed, and plan on adding some cats each year as successful reproduction is doubtful.

You may need to manage fairly intensively to keep the pond as you like it, but that's what this site is all about. I'd difinately stock your bass this fall if your plans for midsized BG work out-but I'm also impatient and inexperienced.

PL, I essentially overstocked with CC, LMB, BG and FH. The bass spawned way too quickly and cleaned out everything but the cats. I could usually only catch one every couple of weeks because they got hook shy. Then the bass starved out and I had a catfish pond. Cats with big heads and short bodies.

In those days I didn't realize that you couldn't get 10 pounds of sugar in a one pound bag.

It can be done if you manage intensely, real intensely. You sound like a BG fan. OK, then it might work if you feed and use the bass to clobber all of the smaller bluegill and consider cats as a bonus. Also escort a lot of bass to the skillet to keep them from eating everything in the pond. You should produce some nice bluegills. Then when you catch almost all of them, seine the pond and start over. The problem with bass in a 1/2 acre pond is controlling their numbers. After awhile, you can have trouble catching them on minnows.

Consider HSB and you are in charge. They are sterile and have a smaller mouth than a LMB. I've never used them but think they are the answer to bass over crowding.

thanks for the advice, how many bass should I stock - 25? I put in 20 more BG last night.

I am done for now.

In the pond, I have.....

300 BG / RES
30 CC
1000 FHM

this fall......25 LMB????????????

I don't want to have the Bass to take over. How many should I take out each year?

Start with 25 like the Guvnor sez. If you're transferring, it will be easy to add a few later IF you ever want to.

Leave your original LMB in at least until they spawn; some say leave them in period.

Then let the fish (size/condition of LMB and BG/RES) tell you how many to remove, based on your goals. Personally, I'd consider removal a year or two after the first LMB spawn, when your first native born bass are getting to be effective predator size (say 10"-12").