Last night on my nightly boat trip around my pond with a spotlight I noticed lots of bedded bluegills. These fish were stocked in late march as 1-2 inch. They are now 3-5. My question is: can bluegill this small have a successful spawn?

Martin -

Sorry I can't help you with the spawning question but would you be willing to pass along the quantity and price you paid for the bluegill you stocked. Thanks

- Russ

Martin,
I stocked Coppernose bluegill (1 to 3 inches) on May 1 last year. They spawned in September and the bluegills that hatched last fall are now about 3 inches long and there are a lot of them. I would say that the answer to your question is yes.
Russ,
As best I can remember, I paid $45 per 100 for Coppernose bluegill from Arkansas Pondstockers.

Larry

Russ, I stocked 5500 bluegill and I think they cost 27 cents each from Zetts.

Larry and Martin,

Thanks for the prices. If all goes according to plan, I hope to be stocking some bluegill this fall. I noticed that both of you ordered from outside your home states. Did you have any problems with shipping... i.e. fish kill ??

Russ

5500 Bluegill? Wow, how big is your pond Martin?

Sounds like you have the start of a huge fish pond. Excellent.

And as far as breeding size, I believe they reach maturity right about the size you mention and can do so in their first or second year. Food supply ha alot to do with it.

Russ, They brought my fish in one of their trucks and There were no losses! Pottsy, My pond is 12 acres and will be 24 feet deep when full, it has about 7 ft to go. This drought is killing me! I hate to see the water leave! I built it according to "Great Small Waters" by Ray Scott. Lots of humps, ridges,trees,broken concrete,etc. I know you only ask about size, but once started, I couldn`t stop!!

Russ,
I ordered my fish from Arkansas Pondstockers and they brought them to a local feed store where I picked them up. I didn't have any losses. I only had to transport them about 15 miles from the feed store.

Larry

Ok, dumb question time. When ordering fish from a hatchery I would think its best to purchase from a reputable local hatchery first, provided they have the species you are interested in. If this situation does not present itself and you have to look outside your local area, are hatchery fish always trucked in?? How does this work if I'm in NY and the nearest hatchery is say 400 miles away in PA, I wouldn't think they'd be willing to truck me in one order for 100 bluegill .......which leads to the dumb question. Do hatcheries ship small quantities of fish overnight??

Russ

Russ,
It's not a dumb question.
There are a couple of hatcheries in Arkansas that have a regular run through the South and Southeast. They are both over 500 miles from my home. They will take orders for any quantity of fish from an individual. You don’t actually have to place an order because they also carry extra fish to sell to people who have not placed an order. But I placed an order in advance because I wanted to be sure that I got the species and number of fish that I wanted. They stop at specified locations, usually a feed store or farm supply store. The feed stores in my area post the fish truck’s schedule. All I had to do was meet the truck and pick up my fish.
I’m sure if you do some checking around you will find something similar in your area.
As for hatcheries shipping small quantities overnight I would think that would depend on the hatchery. I am sure that some would.
Below is a link to a list of fish hatcheries in New York.

http://www.dnr.cornell.edu/ext/fish/Pond/fishsuppliers.htm

Good luck,
Larry

How much better can it get. Log on to a site hosted by a couple of fish experts in Texas and "talk" to a fella in Virginia who sets me up with some fish hatcheries in my backyard...... THANKS Larry!

Russ

When I ordered a small quanity of 15 Israeli Carp and some turtles from Zetts in PA they were shipped to IN in a plastic bag with water and oxygen in them and those were in a cardboard box. The fish and turtles were all alive, but you should let your post office know that you have live fish coming so they can notify you. I didn't do that but the fish were still OK when I picked them up.

John

Martin, Everything I read says Bluegill are sexualy mature at 4 to 5 inches.