What a great site! I wish I would have know of its existence last year. My wife and I bought a few acres in Southern Michigan at the end of summer last year. There's a 1/2 acre pond there, and so this property had my vote from the beginning. I fished it for many, many hours last fall. I used different baits, went in different times of the day, different weather, ect. but not even a nibble!!! Almost giving up I turned to the internet for help (which is why I am surprised to just now find this site.) I came to the conclusion that there may not be any fish in there anymore. So, I stocked 250 bluegill minnows (all about the size of a quarter) late last fall. I don't have much time to get out there but try to do so at least once a week. I got a bucket of water to water a rose bush my wife planted and noticed lots of little minnows flopping around on the ground (about the size of a dime). I couldn't tell if they were bluegill or not, and quickly got them back into the water. Is it pretty much safe to say that my stock from last fall have not matured and spawned?

My intentions are to have a bluegill/LMB pond for recreation and to eat. I have not stocked the LMB yet, because I want to get the forage population up. When should I start stocking the LMB?

Here's a little more background on the pond before you ask. There is a few trees down around the edges and lots of bushes and shady areas. I'm not sure of the depth yet (still working on that) The lady I bought it from said her and her husband owned it for 30+ years and used to stock it early on. She said it was spring fed but I believe it to be mostly the high water table. The closest field has only a dozen cows, and I believe that runoff from that ends up in a nearby drainage ditch. There is a nice constant breeze that blows, so the surface is clear of duckweed,
and the small ripples make it hard to see to the bottom.

I received my free trial issue of Pond Boss about 2 weeks ago, and sent in for a subscription last week. I also sent away for the Managing Michigan ponds for sportfishing book. Hopefully I am on the right track, and doing things the way I'm supposed to. I look forward to your responses and transforming my small puddle into something more. Much thanks in advance!

It certainly looks like you have some adult fish in the pond. As you probably noticed when you stocked the quarter size Bluegill, they look like miniature adults. The small fish you saw were apparently easy to catch in a bucket and even at dime size should also look like a miniature adult. Catch some more and take a close look. If they happen to be Bass, they will not look at all like Bluegill, but very much like small Bass. They often have a fairly prominent lateral line even when quite young. Good luck with the search.
Jim

My first guess was bass, but took them to a local bait shop to make sure. The guy said they were fatheads. So It should be OK to add my bass now. I was hoping to give my bluegill a chance to spawn first. But if there is a large population of fatheads, they'll compete with the smaller bluegill wont they?

The timeframe in which fatheads will directly compete with Bluegill is very small. Note also that when you stock the LMB they will make quick work of the fatheads.