This Sept I stocked a new 1 acre pond(10'-4' spring fed)with the following:500 bluegill,100LMB,1,000 flatheads,100 yellow perch,100 channel cats & 100 shiners -all fingerlings 2" This was before I found & read PONDBOSS!!!!!!! I plan on waiting 2 years to fish/harvest. The ?? is how much should I harvest to cut down on these large numbers? The pond has cedar trees for habitat . Any suggestions!!??
Where are you located? This will have a bearing on the pond productivity and how many fish it can support. Growth will improve if some fish are removed so there is more food for remaining fish.
I'm located in Maryland. I have been feeding fish pellets once a week and there has been plenty of feeding activity . The pond has a green tint ( I have read that this is healthy)and is fed by several springs. I just don't want to over-fish when the time comes. Thanks for your thoughts Bill.
It sounds like you bought your fish from Zetts since this seems like their stocking philosophy. Since you are feeding pellets and your water is light green with productivity the smaller fish should grow fairly quickly considering the overstocking. Q1- Can you tell what types of fish are eating the pellets?. Late next summer next summer I would fish specifically for the catfish and remove a fair number of them (25-50). 25 catfish is in my opinion a lot of catfish in a pond your size with a mixed fish population. They will become aggressive and eat lots of fish food to a point the other fish get shorted.
I assume the bgill were 0.75-1.25" long. Q2 - Correct, or were they also 2"? If 1" they will not spawn until late July - August 2005 or maybe not till June 2006. This means you will have a shortage of forage fish for bass and perch growth. 1000 FATHEAD minnows is way to few to provide good bass growth to 10" thus your bass will grow relatively slowly until there is a spawn of small fish. If you do not have a real shallow shoreline grassy area the shiners will not complete a successful spawn. Q3- How big were shiners?
Your stocking would have been better if you did not have 100 y.perch -they eat minnows. If the stocked perch were 2" they can grow slowly to normally on a diet of bugs and zooplankton. Once y.perch grow to 5"-6" (about late June July)they prefer minnows to obtain good growth. At this point, you now have essentially 200 predators in your pond (100LMB 5"-6" and 100 midsize perch). What are they all going to eat besides bugs to produce growth? If you don't want to remove some bass or perch, in the spring buy about 15-20 more pounds of FATHEADS (abt 6000-10000). This amounts to 30 to 50 fatheads per predator (abt 200). In reality you should be stocking abt 20000 fatheads but 10000 will be easier on your wallet. Hopefully some will spawn to supply food until the bgill spawn.
With a good population of y.perch you should not have a big problem with overabundant bgill since the larger perch 6"+ will help bass crop newly hatched bgill. If yellow perch are a priority for you for eating purposes (8"-12"), and you can easily catch small bass with a minnow and bobber, which means you had good bass survival, then I would remove about 25 to 30 bass next mid-summer or soon after you add the spring stocking of FATHEADS. If you are interested in good bass and perch growth, another fall big stocking of fatheads should be made if you do not get a late summer hatch of bgill.
I think as the old original stock of perch die or are harvested (7-9yrs,2012), the y.perch over time will gradually dissappear due to bass eating most of the young perch before they get to 7"-8" long (2-3yrs). You will know this is happening because you will rarely catch a small yellow perch 4"-6" long. Time will tell.
Bill, I can't tell which fish are eating the pellets.
1.I will take your advice and remove 25+ cats
2.Bluegill were 1-2"
3.Shiners were 3" -There are virtually no grassy areas for them to spawn.We will be planting recommended grasses this spring.
4. I will add 10,000 fatheads this spring(I did buy from Zett's in Drifting PA-anyone near MD any cheaper??)I will also have to remove some bass this summer as you recommend.
5.I'm glad I didn't add 100 Crappie which Zetts offered with their collection!!
Thanks again for your help.
MacTrev:
Jeepers...your first post said 1,000 FLATHEADS! Man, I thought you were in big trouble, until I figured out you mean FATHEADS.
Them's 2 entirely different critters.
VS
MacTrev - One additional note. Zetts used to have a division or hatchery closer to you than Drifting PA. It was called Zetts TriState Fish Farm & Hatchery, Box 218K, Inwood WVA and 28 mi from Hagerstown MD 25428. I doubt they are any cheaper. You will have to do some homework to find a cheaper hatchery. Maybe contact the local gamewarden, Soil & Water Conservation Office or University Extension office for an opinion for cheaper fish supliers.
Matt - thats good stuff!!!!!!!! Yes, I did mean 1,000 Fathead minnows- NOT FLATHEADS!!!!! I would have to raise cattle to feed all of them!!!!LOL
Bill, thanks for the info. I'll shop around for some cheaper minnows to stock in the spring and fall.