Hi all,
I have been on the forum for a while just reading and learning. This is my fisrt time to post. I have a 1 1/4 acre pond that ranges from 10 ft to 4 ft and has had fish in it for 7 years. It has bass from the 3 to 6 lb range, also has CNBG, BC, REB, and some how blue cats.(Think someone in family put them in.)I dug a small pond that has been there for 4 yrs and is conected to the big pond by a ditch that is 17 ft wide by 15 ft long and 3 ft deep that i am going to be putting some pipe in and covering so that i can screen off the pipe from the big pond. The small pond is around 100ft by 50ft and is 15 ft deep, What i want to do is to raise some CNBG and FHM in it and then catch them and put them in the big pond when they are big enough. I have been feeding in the big pond for 4 yr and will be feeding in the small pond. My question is (1) how many of the two do i start off with (2) how long do i have to wait to release them into the big pond? The big pond was never stocked with fish from a fishery but by frinds and family. There are good size CNBG in there now but after each spawn all the small fry get eatin, so i want to build up the the stock of CNBG for the bass. ALL the bass are healthy and growing. I have also put in the big pond every year for the last 4 yrs, 15lb of FHM and also throw in a couple of sacks of crawfish every other year. Thanks you for your time and will put in some pics when i get a chance.

I would like to add; I do have a homemade aeration sytem that takes the water from 2 ft off the bottom of the deep end to the 4 ft flat on the opposite side, the shallow end. The pond also has varying stucture: shelves,ridges,drop-offs,cat tails, lillies, and an island with a pear tree on it.

Welcome to he forum, glad you decided to jump in!

I would track the relative weights on your LMB of different sizes. This will give you a better idea as to where you are lacking in forage as it sounds your maybe a bit predator heavy if they are completely removing all your BG spawn. Just a couple dozen adult BG in your secondary pond will produce many offspring for growth and subsequent transplant into your larger pond to supplement it. Just a couple pounds of FHM can turn into hundreds of pounds in short order without predation. However, FHM may not in fact be a good choice for what you are trying to accomplish.

Hi CJ,
Thanks for the info. I would like for the the pond to be able to hold a good population of BG. My goel is for the kids to be able to come and catch fish and have fun. I dont much care for the bass much anymore, since the are hook shy. The only way you can catch them is to use live BG.I will be removing some of the LMB and try to remove all the BC that are in there.I am not looking for a trophy pond but just to have big numbers of BG, but would like to leave in the LMB that are over the 4 lb range, It makes me happy to see the kids faces when they land one of the big LMB. Is it possible to have the big LMB and have a good number of BC ,if i keep raseing them? Do i need to be thinking of putting in some other kind of feeder fish to take the pressure off the BG and if so, what kind?

I would say it is possible to have big LMB and a good number of BC but they both need ample amounts of forage fish. As the BC get bigger and bigger, the more they will extra. This would take a huge time and effort commitment from you.

The Texas Hunter Fish feeders are highly regarded by the forum if you want to spend the extra cash. Everyone that has one says they are well worth the money. They are listed under the resources tab at the Pond Boss homepage. We will be ordering one soon for our newly built pond.

You might want to consider two fish feeders, one for the small pond and one for the larger pond. That would help with growth in the smaller pond and take some pressure off the BG in the larger pond.

Hi LUD,
Yes, im am feeding in the big pond and plan on getting a feeder for the small pond. Trying to use any option to help the BG grow. Since i have 6 lb LMB, what size do you recommend they need to be before i release them to the big pond? Is 5 to 6 in. BG good enough or do i need to go bigger? I will try and catch a few of the fish in the big pond, and post some pics. I also plan on aerating the small pond.

A rule of thumb is that LMB can eat BG 1/3 their body length.

I would say a 6 lb bass would have a length of 20 inches so I would say 5 or 6 inches but if you could get them to 8-10 inches, they would have a much better chance of survival. Being located in LA and feeding them, it would be possible to 8-10 inches a year. What brand of fish food are you feeding? I would switch Aquamax as it is the best on market.

Thanks LUD,
I found a feed store in town that sells the AM game fish chow for 23.99 a 50lb sack. It has 32% potein, guess thats good? We finished damming the small pond this weekend, next thing is to get a feeder. I have 65 BG and 2 lb of FM that will be here FEB. 28TH.

32% is good and will work. But Purnia Aquamax 500 has somewhere around 42% protein. (It may be 43% or 44%). It will grow a few extra inches due to the higher protein. Maybe esshup will comment on this. I believe he feed Game Chow then switched to Aquamax. But it is also more expensive about $30/50 lbs. Sounds like a great start!

I think if they have Game Chow, they could get Aquamax 500.

Is there a need to fertilize, and how much? I have heard of useing horse manure, is that possible?

NEED to fertilize? that depends on goals. If you wish to maximize your fish lbs then probably need to fertilize unless in a fertilie soil. Read up on fertilizaiton not something to take lightly but done correctly one of the best methods to grow more pounds of fish. Organic fertilize will work but not very good control too much can lead to crash that is why we like the control of a few lbs of water soluble.

If you take a good look at dried horse manure, you will find that it is mostly compressed grass. Not very useful for lawn or pond fertilization.

Thanks for the help and info. I will be building a waterfall for the small pond, as soon as the rain holds off. The big pond has come up 4ft over the last 3 months and is almost full. Should i post pics in here or in the gallery, if so how do i post them in here?

You can post them in either location... Which ever you prefer. If you wish to post them directly to this thread, you need an photo sharing account, such as Photobucket. Upload your photos to the photo sharing website, then cut and paste the HTML link to your post. Check out the archives, I believe their is a more detailed set of directions there...

Here is the link for posting pictures in a post.

Posting Pics in a Post

Here are a few pic,

One of the small bass,

My homemade aeration,

For the fatheads in small pond,

Me and the eel,


One of the cats,
Here are some pics of the before and after of the small pond,


We just put some BG,REB, and FHM in the samll pond yesterday.

It has been 5 months since we put the BG in the small pond. Just wanted to stop by and give some updates on how the BG are doing. Looks like they are growing fast. They where 3 to 5 in. (more 3 in. then 5)when we put them in. We caught some 7 in. before i started taking pics, sry. I will post some more pics when i get a chance to go wet a hook again. I used a cast net to check size and caught a net full of baby BG. They where .5 to 1.5 in. The FHM are all over the place. Building a trap to relocate them to the big pond.Also there where loads of grass shrimp in there, will get some pics of them .








Here is a pic of my (redneck watterfall) lol.

Nice! The BG look like they are getting plenty to eat.

Where'd you find the eel?

Was trying to catch the catfish out my main pond and hooked the eel instead.

Wonder how that got there ?

Nice BG. Sounds like you are on track.