So I have a recently dug pond, that is roughly 50' x 30' and ranging from 5' to 2.5' deep. Spring fed, with good DO content, surface water temps did not rise above 72 in the dead of summer. Wondering what I should put in it, I don't want to fish it at all, just basically have a koi pond type deal, but not koi. Suggestions anybody?

I think is will be an issue of fish being able to survive the winter in that size pond as far north as you are. Maybe someone in that area will jump in on some additional info.

How much flow from the spring?

Does it freeze over in winter?

Very little flow from the spring, more of a seepage. and it would take a one in a decade cold snap to freeze it completely over

Wonder if RBT would survive? Someone with experience with these would need to weigh in. Why did you build the pond so shallow?

The majority of the pond is between 3.5 to 5 feet deep, I left shallower water in case I wanted to try to go with a warmer watered species. The thought being that if I expanded with more shallow water I could raise the water temperature with sun exposure. I can easily take the 2.5 feet down to 5 feet, just didn't want to commit to that quite yet, because I can't put the dirt back once it is out. As for my 5 foot limit, I hit a clay seam that it appeared the spring flowed on top of, and I did not want to risk digging through the clay seam, giving the spring a hole to drain through.

Rainbow also seemed to be a good fit to me on paper in such a small pond because I could feed them and not have to worry about a pond that is completely self-sufficient in terms of food. I also wondered about browns because they can handle a bit warmer water.

You might consider investigating how deep the clay is so that you can deepen the pond to 8-10 feet. You can always repack the clay if you pop through to sand. I have no idea about the geology in your area, but my place has a thick clay layer under the top soil. Yu could also stock pile the clay and reline the pond once it is the depth you want. Just not sure how well a shallow pond will work for fish in your area. I have 25' round pond fed by a flowing artesian well, but its 8-10 feet deep in the middle.

Channel catfish (CC) would work well but that may not be your idea of an ideal fish.

They train to feed easily, get big and can become almost like individual named pets if hand fed regularly.

IMO, with your cold water (never higher than 72), I would stick with a non-reproducing cool water species. Your willingness to feed pellets opens up some options. A few HSB might work well. Not a pro, just throwing out an idea.

HSB seemed like a good idea to me reading about them on here, but I read somewhere that they are illegal to stock in the state of Virginia. Makes sense because I cannot find anywhere in the state that sells or raises them.

RAH, I am just a newbie at this, so what would be the advantages of the added depth?

I actually like the idea of channel cats, from a practicality standpoint. They just aren't a species I have any recreational experience with so they were not really at the top of my list. would they handle the cold water well?

Where I am at, it provides deep habitat when its really cold or hot. It may not be needed in your area. It also provides places where plants can't grow.

I would attempt the typical balance of lmb and BG. Maybe stock light 100 BG and 10 Bass. Someone, maybe even you, might well be interested in fishing at some point and they are as fun to watch/feed as any....

a predator prey balance like LMB and BG would be ideal if possibly, I just wonder whether it would indeed be possible in such a small space.

Without harvest the LMB will out eat the forage base, and you will end up with a LMB stunted pond. 100 BG and 10 LMB equal to approximately 2900 BG per acre (which is OK i you want to grow large bass) but the LMB numbers equal approximately 290 per acre, which is WAY too many. 50-125 per acre is the range. So, that would be 1 or 2 LMB, but that's only the first few years. Once they start reproducing, then they would need to be harvested.

I doubt CC will work because of the cool water - they are more of a warmer water fish.

I'd look into stocking the Brown Trout and feed them, also throw in some Fathead Minnows. They will furnish food for the trout, and feed on Mosquito larvae in the shallow water if any do lay their eggs.

If the Browns don't work, you still could stock trout seasonally,

Browns should survive if the water doesn't get any warmer than 72°F.

My CC were still feeding at 55 degrees water temperature and were very active at above 60. In fact they got very active as the water temperature started to drop in the fall. Almost like a bear before hibernation trying to pack on the pounds before the winter sleep.

But they might not grow as well as cool water fish. If fishing is not really his interest, that might not be a bad thing if they grow slower.

Just some of my thoughts. Don't know if they are right or not. I wonder how far north CC do well?

They do quite well. The North Dakota state record is over 42 pounds and 40" long. They just grow slower in the north.

Basically what I thought esshup, just much more knowledge from you as opposed to my guess. Would browns completely eat me out of FHM if I stocked them and got the population stable before stocking the browns?

Essup, does extrapolating stocking levels down to very small ponds using per acre numbers work? I would think that, for example, one Heron visit could eliminate a whole species. Is the point that lmb/BG just won't work in such a small area? Is there any chance that shore predation in such a small pond would effectively replace fishing pressure? Finally, any idea how long it would be before a lmb stunted situation would be presant and what would be the consequences?

tlh2865 I wonder what your elevation is and how high the terrain is around you and how stable the spring water temperature is through the year. The close terrain above my spring is only 300 feet above its 2000 ft elevation. I don't yet know how much its temp varies.

You make a good point about water temperature variance, it is something that I want to keep track of as it continues to get colder. as for my elevation it would only be around 400 feet above sea level.

And as far as predation herons don't worry me all that much given its remote location relative to any meaningful body of water. However, hawk and eagle predation would be another story.