First of all, I want to say hello to all you wonderful people who post here. I've read so much helpful info.

Here is the situation:

pond: 15,500 square feet; 6' at the deepest; no aerator
location: Needville, Texas; south of Houston

My goal is to put fish in there that's fun to catch and good to eat. I have read on this board that for a beginner, and for the size of pond we have, it would be best if we just keep one species of fish in there, so that's what I plan on doing. Right now, simplicity is good for me.

Q1: What would be a good fish to put in there? List the fish and pros/cons of each.

I would like to put in one species to catch, but some other small fish in there for the main species to feed off of. Is that possible? We're not at the farm that often to feed the fish. It would be nice if there was a way for them to be self sustaining.

Q2: How much of the fish can we put in there. I'd like to err on the side of safety. Please keep in mind that we don't have an aerator. How much of the main fish, and how much of the fish to feed them with.

Basically, our main goal is simplicity and the least amount of maintenance. Nothing too fancy.

Thanks in advance fellas. I love this board.

By the way, I calculated, 15,500 square feet is about 0.35 acres.

I like channel catfish in smaller ponds. Hybrid stripers might be OK but it takes several years for them to grow. I also prefer bluegill, either coppernose or native. Since I think you are too small for bass, you will have to control the bluegill by fishing.

If you live on the place, you can hand feed and will enjoy it. If not, get a feeder. Use the catfish for a sport and table fish. Catch and eat them at 1.5 to 2 pounds and periodically restock. They are inexpensive.

Numbers I would use:

100 four to six inch CC

350 two inch bluegill

I would also stock a couple of pounds of fathead minnows to give the other fish a boost.

You can stock all of these fish simultaneously.

Prior to stocking, have your water quality checked and take remedial action (lime) if needed. You can go to the TAMU website for directions. It is inexpensive.

The least expensive and most rewarding thing you can do is subscribe to the PB mag and buy Raising Trophy Bass. The book puts the ponding stuff in perspective.

Dave, would it be okay to stock blue cats instead of channel cats?

Also, I have read that catfish dig holes. This isn't really desirable. Would providing spawning tubes/tires/etc solve this problem?

From what I've been researching, it seems to me that my best bet for now is blue cats and definitely blugill sunfish for them to feed on. I probably will mostly be eating the sunfish since I don't like the taste of catfish much. Occassionally, I will probably have to fish out the overgrown catfish.

Also, if I stock with minnows, will they eventually be completely eaten, or do they have good survival rates?

Thanks in advance.

Well, no; it's really not advisable to stock blues. They get huge and can clean out a pond. Maybe cut the cats down to fifty. You will love to see them feed. I'm not wild about catfish but there are some darn good recipes around for them. I just haven't tried any of them.

I've never heard of a catfish digging a hole. Anybody?

Nope, the minnows will be eaten. That's their job. They are the forage for the forage fish and the predators.

Nope. Catfish don't dig holes.

A fish can create a shallow depression by fanning it's tail, but it won't dig a hole.

The first year we tried to spawn blue catfish on the farm we used a few up to 35 lbs as broodstock. Our spawning barrels were 30 gallon drums, staked to the pond bottom. One of the brooders effectively removed a barrel and left in it's place a "hole" approximately 2 feet deep in one of the levees. And this is a relatively stout levee with hard rock/clay. I don't know how that happened. Not positive it was the fish, but can't think of anything else to blame.

We too occassionally see where a catfish has apparently made a significiant hole in the wall of a pond. Hole was about the size of a bushel basket and catfish in hole was around 6 lbs. Something else could have made the hole and catfish was using hole for spawning.

Really?! I've never heard that. What is the mechanism of digging do you guys think?

Maybe I'm going to have to eat some crow.

I would really hate to have holes. Our pond is lined with clay to keep it from leaking. Holes are not good.

So, I take it from all the things I've gathered so far, that any type of bass would be inappropriate. I read any pond less than 1 acre is not suited for bass. If we had them, we probably would not be eating them; only using them to keep the bluegill sunfish population in check. The stocker we'll be buying from has hybrid striped bass, and largemouth bass (Florida and native strains).

I guess I'm shying away from catfish. Maybe we can just stock bluegill sunfish and fish every week. That wouldn't be too hard....I don't think. Heck, we love fish. LOL. Is there any other fish out there that would be good in keeping the sunfish population in check?

Don't run from catfish because they might make a depression in the pond. As long as your pond is constructed well and holds water well, catfish should not do much damage.

Here's a list of more important factors to consider: oxygen depletions, tree growth on pond levees, cormorants, mud cats, overpopulation and stunting, inbreeding, harvesting regulations, water quality, water supply, structure, plankton bloom, visibility, and on and on and on.

I think they whip a nest like a bass does, in a way, by thrusting and twisting in the pond bottom. And catfish have a heck of a whipping tail at that.

geish, if you dont like to eat catfish, and are worried about them making holes, then you probably wont like taking them off the hook either. I dont see anything wrong with using bass to keep the BG and RES in check. That is what I am doing in a 1/2 acre pond. I do have some CC because I like them and they are fun for kids. One thing for sure, you will need to provide some cover for shade and keep the pond full. If you feed, you will probably need to aerate at some point. I would go light on the stocking. Some people disagree, but I have golden shiners also, and they provide great forage for the larger bluegills when they spawn. They can go in after the BG grow up. They can get large, but are easily kept at bay in a small pond. I trap excess BG and GS.

I think burger makes a good point.

The more "hands on" you are willing to be when it comes to fish management, the more you will be able to diversify you pond's fish community.

The process of educating yourself on the issues will allow you to use such things as aerating, cover placement, trapping, etc. as needed to try interesting combinations.

If your choice is to "stock and watch", then you should be conservative in your initial choices of species to stock. You can always add fish types later. It is much more difficult to remove species, however, once they're in.

I wouldn't shy away from LMB in a third acre, especially if they are being used for sunfish population control. I don't think it's hard to have LMB in a small pond; it's just hard to have trophy bass, and next to impossible to have very many trophy bass, in one.

About 20 years ago I stocked BG, about 20 CC, fatheads, and about 20 bass fingerlings in a 1/4 acre pond. Everything went great for a couple of years. Then the bass spawned. The small bass wiped out the forage and then starved out. I became "stuck" with a trophy BG pond with some big cats. Everything existed by eating their young and my occasional feeding.

I accidentally created about 25 or 30 eleven to 12 inch BG the size of dinner plates. It darn sure wasn't skill.

Geish, if you want fun fishing with limited hassle, you might consider about 200 hybrid bluegills. They will somewhat spawn and backcross to a green sunfish. Toss in about 3 pounds of fatheads to get them kicked off and feed when you can. If you set up an automatic feeder, it just might meet your goals and make you real happy. That is, if it ever rains.