Pond stocking in SE Alabama - 09/02/18 05:09 PM
When is the earliest y'all would stock in south Alabama? I am planning on October but will stock earlier if i can. CNBG and RESF to start with.
Re: Pond stocking in SE Alabama - 09/03/18 11:02 AM
Don't forget Fathead minnows when you do your first stocking. They are not all that expensive and they produce a lot of forage, assuming you are going to have a LMB and or an HSB, or both pond. And first stocking was done at my pond when it was a 3rd full and the water visibility was around 12" due to the pond being new. I would also suggest you talk to your local fish supplier if you have one, as to when they suggest you stock. I would think you would be ok when water temps drop into the low 80's or less. Hay ! I'm no expert but you asked 
Re: Pond stocking in SE Alabama - 09/03/18 04:19 PM
I had totally forgot about the fat head minnows so thanks for that. As for bass, I don't think HSB is a good idea with my pond being a little less than 1/2 acre. So i will do around 35-40 LMB in the early summer. Thanks for the input Tracy.
Re: Pond stocking in SE Alabama - 09/04/18 01:47 PM
Do not let small pond size limit the use of HSB who can survive well in small ponds if HSB can be a useful tool.
Re: Pond stocking in SE Alabama - 09/04/18 05:18 PM
Originally Posted By: Bill Cody
Do not let small pond size limit the use of HSB who can survive well in small ponds if HSB can be a useful tool.
What would be a good use for HSB in a brand new pond...is there a reason LMB wouldn't be just as good a predator fish?
Re: Pond stocking in SE Alabama - 09/04/18 07:54 PM
It appears that small ponds are hard to develop into good LMB fisheries, so with that in mind, I have chosen to try my hand at growing larger panfish, HBG in particular for my small pond.
Read this about managing your small pond for larger panfish...
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=189988#Post189988
I have stocked the HSB in a 1/4 acre pond along with HBG and RES with intentions that the HSB will help keep the recruitment from the HBG and RES to a minimum. The HBG will not likely produce enough offspring to maintain a predator population whether that is HSB or LMB so I have committed to supplemental feeding. LMB would likely begin to go hungry with out a lot of HBG YOY, LMB can be hard to feed train, and they reproduce like crazy, therefore the HSB seemed to be a better fit. The lack of HSB reproduction will eliminate any concerns of predator overpopulations which is pretty common in small ponds, but will need to be restocked or ladder stocked as time passes. The HSB's mouth gape is a lot smaller that the LMB per pound or inches in length which should allow for the HSB to get bigger that what a LMB can get before it should be removed. You do not want bass in the small pond that can fit your larger panfish in their mouths. LMB will need to be culled from the pond when they get about 14 inches long to keep them from getting so big that they feed on your larger panfish protégés. e.g. A 13" long, 1.2 pound LMB will have a mouth that opens up to about 2 inches while a HSB with the same size mouth will typically be 22 inches long and weigh almost 6 pounds. It seems like a HSB/HBG combo will yield much better large bass fishing while keeping the HBG sizes up too.
With all that said, If you just have to have big bass fishing in a small pond, I would still consider a HSB/RES combo, but I would expect to feed them to size, cull the pond, then start over. I say this because the HSB can grow very fast and be fun to fish in a short period of time. I have left the HBG out of this scenario to make room for more HSB in the pond. This novice concept of mine more closely resembles a fish farm pond. See the following thread for my experience with HSB growth my first year...
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=38025&Number=494998#Post494998
I believe if you are more of the "hands off" type of pond manager and willing to let mother nature run the course for you then the traditional LMB, BG, CC pond would be best as the hybrid path tends to lead to feeding, selective culling, ladder stocking, and just more time and effort put into the pond.
Read this about managing your small pond for larger panfish...
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=189988#Post189988
I have stocked the HSB in a 1/4 acre pond along with HBG and RES with intentions that the HSB will help keep the recruitment from the HBG and RES to a minimum. The HBG will not likely produce enough offspring to maintain a predator population whether that is HSB or LMB so I have committed to supplemental feeding. LMB would likely begin to go hungry with out a lot of HBG YOY, LMB can be hard to feed train, and they reproduce like crazy, therefore the HSB seemed to be a better fit. The lack of HSB reproduction will eliminate any concerns of predator overpopulations which is pretty common in small ponds, but will need to be restocked or ladder stocked as time passes. The HSB's mouth gape is a lot smaller that the LMB per pound or inches in length which should allow for the HSB to get bigger that what a LMB can get before it should be removed. You do not want bass in the small pond that can fit your larger panfish in their mouths. LMB will need to be culled from the pond when they get about 14 inches long to keep them from getting so big that they feed on your larger panfish protégés. e.g. A 13" long, 1.2 pound LMB will have a mouth that opens up to about 2 inches while a HSB with the same size mouth will typically be 22 inches long and weigh almost 6 pounds. It seems like a HSB/HBG combo will yield much better large bass fishing while keeping the HBG sizes up too.
With all that said, If you just have to have big bass fishing in a small pond, I would still consider a HSB/RES combo, but I would expect to feed them to size, cull the pond, then start over. I say this because the HSB can grow very fast and be fun to fish in a short period of time. I have left the HBG out of this scenario to make room for more HSB in the pond. This novice concept of mine more closely resembles a fish farm pond. See the following thread for my experience with HSB growth my first year...
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=38025&Number=494998#Post494998
I believe if you are more of the "hands off" type of pond manager and willing to let mother nature run the course for you then the traditional LMB, BG, CC pond would be best as the hybrid path tends to lead to feeding, selective culling, ladder stocking, and just more time and effort put into the pond.
Re: Pond stocking in SE Alabama - 09/05/18 12:24 PM
HCA, I love my hsb. If you live where your pond is, then I would have to add some to the mix. You don't have to add a lot of them, just start off with 10 or so. If you decide you don't like them, you can fish them out over a short period of time. But I suspect you will enjoy them. The reason I asked if you live near the pond you might try hand feeding your BG and hsb. It will become a favorite pastime. The hsb will almost double in size the first few years and it won't take long before someone catches their largest fish or will have a fish tale where this monster broke them off.
My daughter has a half acre pond and last fall I added 50 7" bg followed up last spring with 25lbs of fhm's 250 2 to 3" res and 50 4"hsb. My daughter loves hand feeding the fish. My reasoning was, the hsb will not overpopulate the small pond and the hsb will grow fast and grow pretty big in that half acre. And it's pretty easy to catch and sample the hsb for pond management.
My daughter has a half acre pond and last fall I added 50 7" bg followed up last spring with 25lbs of fhm's 250 2 to 3" res and 50 4"hsb. My daughter loves hand feeding the fish. My reasoning was, the hsb will not overpopulate the small pond and the hsb will grow fast and grow pretty big in that half acre. And it's pretty easy to catch and sample the hsb for pond management.