Pond Boss Magazine
https://www.pondboss.com/images/userfiles/image/20130301193901_6_150by50orangewhyshouldsubscribejpeg.jpg
Advertisment
Newest Members
Shotgun01, Dan H, Stipker, LunkerHunt23, Jeanjules
18,451 Registered Users
Forum Statistics
Forums36
Topics40,899
Posts557,070
Members18,451
Most Online3,612
Jan 10th, 2023
Top Posters
esshup 28,411
ewest 21,474
Cecil Baird1 20,043
Bill Cody 15,110
Who's Online Now
15 members (DenaTroyer, Freg, Blestfarmpond, Snipe, RAH, Rick O, Justin W, bstone261, Theo Gallus, esshup, jpsdad, Bing, e_stallman, FishinRod, Augie), 761 guests, and 183 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Thread Like Summary
Longbows
Total Likes: 4
Original Post (Thread Starter)
#528875 12/15/2020 7:09 PM
by Longbows
Longbows
I just bought some land with a pond in Southern Idaho. The pond is about 25 acres in size. The pond was made from gravel mining and is about 26 feet deep. The mining was recently finished and filled with water. The pond has a clean bottom and clear water. The pond is fed from ground water/aquifer.
I would like to eventually have some great bass or trout fishing in the pond. There is not any fish in the pond that I am aware of, but I have seen some small minnows along the edges. I don't even know where to begin with a pond this large. Here is what I am thinking:
1. Add some structure to the bottom (tires, pallets, 2x4 trees, rock, xmas trees.....
2. This Spring, transplant some bass from a friend's private pond into my pond.

What else should I do? Lets say I put 100 bass in this 25 acre pond. How long will it take to have decent fishing? 1 year, 2 years, 5 years?

Thank you for any advice. I am completely green on pond development.
Attached Images
Liked Replies
#528879 Dec 15th a 08:28 PM
by wbuffetjr
wbuffetjr
Originally Posted by Longbows
Great information guys. Thank you! I am so glad to find this forum! I will start working my way around this site and learning as much as I can. Thank you for the above links as starting points!

Be careful, the rabbit hole goes deep!! You could very easily wind up like the guy in the movie "The Matrix" when he says "Why didn't I just take the damn blue pill."
1 member likes this
#528889 Dec 16th a 01:17 AM
by 4CornersPuddle
4CornersPuddle
Welcome to the forum, Longbows. You've gotten a start here with very sound advice. It's really important to keep your ducks lined up as you proceed.

As an aside, I lived for many years(13) down the road from you. Lloyd Lane on the Snake just a mile above the Marsing bridge. My 7 acres was immediately adjacent to a gravel pit. I wanted a pond, but without big bucks for a liner, I wasn't going to keep water in my porous soil. I did have 345 feet of Snake River frontage, so that was some compensation. Ha!
1 member likes this
#528900 Dec 16th a 05:13 AM
by esshup
esshup
Longbows, the reason why we say get the forage fish base established first is because bass eat a LOT of fish. Here's some info and you can do the math to see how much forage fish you need.

A single bass needs to eat 10# of fish to gain 1# of weight. PLUS they need to eat fish that are 1/4 to 1/3 their body length to gain enough calories per meal to grow and not just be exchanging calories to chase down their prey. Remember a bass doesn't catch a fish every time they try to catch one....

That's why getting the forage base established is so important.

If it was a Southern pond, I'd say stock 3,000 bluegills per surface acre and then stock 50 bass per surface acre. As you can see, it's important to get the forage base established first.
1 member likes this
#528892 Dec 16th a 01:56 AM
by Bill Cody
Bill Cody
Here is some reference information when you have a pond in Idaho. It is usually good to at least know ones state's rules.

https://idfg.idaho.gov/fish/private-ponds

https://agri.idaho.gov/main/animals/fish/commercial-fish-farms/
1 member likes this
Today's Birthdays
Bob Lusk, GaryK, GrizzFan, PhotographerDave
Recent Posts
Alum vs Bentonite/Lathanum for Phosphorus Removal?
by DenaTroyer - 03/28/24 09:38 AM
Brooder Shiners and Fry, What to do??
by Freg - 03/28/24 09:13 AM
Happy Birthday Bob Lusk!!
by esshup - 03/28/24 08:45 AM
Relative weight charts in Excel ? Calculations?
by esshup - 03/28/24 08:36 AM
Dewatering bags seeded to form berms?
by Justin W - 03/28/24 08:19 AM
Reducing fish biomass
by FishinRod - 03/28/24 08:18 AM
New 2 acre pond stocking plan
by esshup - 03/27/24 06:05 PM
1 year after stocking question
by esshup - 03/27/24 06:02 PM
Questions and Feedback on SMB
by Donatello - 03/27/24 03:10 PM
Paper-shell crayfish and Japanese snails
by Bill Cody - 03/27/24 10:18 AM
2024 North Texas Optimal BG food Group Buy
by Dave Davidson1 - 03/27/24 08:15 AM
Freeze Danger? - Electric Diaphragm Pump
by esshup - 03/26/24 09:47 PM
Newly Uploaded Images
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
by Tbar, December 10
Deer at Theo's 2023
Deer at Theo's 2023
by Theo Gallus, November 13
Minnow identification
Minnow identification
by Mike Troyer, October 6
Sharing the Food
Sharing the Food
by FishinRod, September 9
Nice BGxRES
Nice BGxRES
by Theo Gallus, July 28
Snake Identification
Snake Identification
by Rangersedge, July 12

� 2014 POND BOSS INC. all rights reserved USA and Worldwide

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5