Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - 1 year after stocking question

Hey everyone, I’m coming up on a year after stocking my pond with catfish, bass, and carp. However, I haven’t been able to spot any of the catfish or bass, and the carp have been elusive for the past few months. I do see the bluegill, both hybrid and regular. I’ve been feeding them in the summertime and stopping when the temperature drops, and I’ve just started feeding again. Considering these factors, I’m thinking about adding more fish/fathead minnows this coming week. Any recommendations on what I should add to my 1-acre pond? Any insights or advice would be greatly appreciated! Below is what I stocked it with 1 year ago. It’s an old pond that had little to no fish before my initial stocking. Deepest part is 13 ft.


75 bass
150 catfish
15 cups of flat head minnows
3 carp
200 hybrid specklbelly
200 bluegil

Snipe (and others),

What are the reasons for being "very dependent on suspended sediment"?

I have seen lots of Kansas farm ponds get very muddy after big rains, but I don't know the causes of harm.

1.) Can enough silt deposition actually smother fertilized eggs in the nest?

YES

2.) Does the murky water prevent the fry and fingerlings from sight-feeding for extended periods?

Somewhat but it also reduces the food base (plankton) for them to eat. If that is extensive at the wrong time it can do a lot of year class damage.

3.) Does the murky water shut down the bottom of the food chain based on photosynthesizing organisms and that quickly has negative impacts moving up the food chain?

Yes - see above.

I know it is important to practice good erosion control and keep silt out of our ponds. However, in arid regions people sometimes need to include things like their neighbor's plowed field in the watershed to keep the pond supplied with enough water to survive the drought periods. Therefore, some crappy trade offs sometimes must occur.[/quote]

You will need to up the Bluegill stocking rate to between 20:1-30:1 for a BG/LMB ratio.

After the LMB have spawned, you need to harvest 20 to 25 pounds of them per year. Unfortunately you didn't start with a clean slate, so you have no idea how many of the initial stockers were eaten by the other fish in the pond.

1) Yes if the male doesn't keep them cleaned off.
2) Don't forget about their lateral line, but it will inhibit some feeding
3) Not shut it down 100% but depending on how dense it is it will surely reduce it.


I'll let others expound on the answers.