Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose got my coppernose today need help

My pond was stocked with 1000 coppernose today. it is about 3/4 acre. i didnt get to see them myself, but my mom said they were about 1" or so. i expected them to be larger than that. does this mean i'm gonna have to wait till next spring to stock my bass? I sure hope not!!!!!! that means 2 years before i can fish my pond, thats unthinkable!! please help!! Also, should i feed the coppernose and if so what kind of feed and about how much does it cost? Thanks for any help.

Keven,

Is you pond about 3/4 of an acre of is it closer 1/2. the reason I ask is because you just stocked enough bluegill for a 2.5 acre pond. If your pond is fertilized then you stocked enough for a legit. 1 acre pond.

Everyone stocks small fish with the idea of growing larger fish. Its difficult to grow larger fish when the fish population is crowded. Bluegill will spawn when they reach 3 inches in length. that spawn is critical to fingerling bass, small bass need small fish to eat. therefore it is critical your bluegill are large enought to spawn when fingerling bass are stocked.

i would begin a feeding program ASAP. feed floating catfish food that way you can make sure the BG are eating. Read the bag it has instruction for feeding rates. you can find catfish food at any local feed and fertlizer store.

Stock fingerling bass when they come available in late May. do not overstock the bass. Stocking rate is 50 fish per acre in GA, I assume Al is no different. when guys want large bass I scale the rate down to 35-40 fish per acre and get great growth rates.

got to go to work, post back with any questions

later

Shan

by the way, I just got off the phone with a guy. I stocked his one acre pond with 40 F-1 bass per acre. He is fertilizing. Stocked fish in May 2001. he caught 3-19 inch bass last weekend. Dont overstock your bass and enjoy the same result. remember you only need about 20.

later

Shan

Keven,Pond Boss recommends Purina Fish Chow which I use. One advantage is the feed come in many sizes which you need now. I am paying $11.50 a 50 pound bag near Atlanta. Purina has a web site which gives dealer locations.

the purina floating fish chow has worked well for me but I am paying $15 per 50lb bag here in Texas!! expensive but good

Keven - your 1" gills will have a hard time eating the smaller pellets in Purina fish chow unless it is softened. If you use Fish Chow you may have to crush some of the pellets until the gills get big enough to eat the sizes in Fish Chow. this will be time consuming.

With 1000 gills in a 3/4 ac pond without fertilization they may quickly run out of zooplankton and growth will slow dramatically. You've stocked too many bgills in an unfertilized 3/4 ac pond. You may have some problems with slow growth of the gills.

Keven, as I posted on March 23 under "Coppernose ok" thread, I mentioned the importance of stocking the intermediate size bluegill if you wanted to stock bass this year. Did the hatchery say they were going to be bigger than 1"? If so they are in the worng. If not I strongly suggest properly fertilzing the pond. Once the bluegill grow slightly, they will eat starter pellets in about a month. Fed this then switch to small pellet foating feed. ALso F1's are not avail until June. When first stocked they will not eat fish since they are only 2". BY July-August they will require fish. You may help yourself out by stocking some fathead minnows now 1-2K. THis will provide some forage for the new bass. Then by late August even the 1" bluegill (by following above) should be sexaully mature and start spawning. ALso backing off the number of bass is a good idea. Good luck! BTW I just stocked 8,000 intermedaite coppernose yesterday so 3 clients would not have the same problem.