Hello good people I would like to say I’ve been reading some old posts that y’all have sent and I think this is the place that can help me with my questions. I’ve built a new 8.5 acre pond last year. In December we put 4000 bluegill,1000 red ear, 6000 fat head minnows, and in March I added 6000 golden shimmers. We have two feeders going and have already fertilized for the second time about 3 weeks apart. Now I’m getting ready to stock bass in a couple more months. I think I’ve read and reread every article I can find on google but am still unsure of which bass to stock. I guess my question is can I stock all three largemouths, those I’m thinking of are Florida, northern, and f-1. Am I making a mistake by doing this. Any information will be greatly appreciated

Howdy, Alan.

Those are your three choices for LMB. As a Northerner, I would not impose to make the selection for you (North of the M-D line even F-1s are iffy), but we have lots of Southern members from both sides of Mississippi (including ewest from Star) who will give you their expert opinions on these three options.

I have done exactly that with success. But have also used other stocking plans. It depends on your goals for the pond. What are your pond goals and how many and what size LMB are you thinking about?

Sorry folks, it’s taken me a good 10 hrs to figure out how to reply on the forum 😀 old people and technology doesn’t mix well. As far as What I’m hoping for in my pond I guess first off I want a healthy ecosystem. And yes I want some bragging fish as well. I want my kids to have a chance to reel one in and not just look at empty baits. I want my ponds productivity to last more than 5 years. I want to stock it now and still have good genetics 15 years from now with a chance at hooking a rod breaker. I guess I want it all. I’m thinking of stocking 200 f1’s, 100 Florida bass, 100 northern bass, and maybe 50 hybrid stripes. What’s that sound like?

Well, if you want some bragging fish, you will have them with the Bluegills, but if you want bragging LMB, you should be stocking about 60 bluegills for every bass you put in the pond.

A bass has to eat approximately 10# of fish to put on one pound of weight. You are planning on stocking 450 bass. So that means that to go from whatever size you stock them at to one pound heavier they will need to eat 4,500 pounds of fish in the next 12 months.

For large bass, stock around 3,000+ Bluegills and 50 Bass per surface acre.

Yea sir I see what you’re saying. So to achieve that ratio do you think I should back down on my bass numbers or go ahead and get more BG?

You could wait until next year and give your bluegill, golden shiners a full cycle to spawn too.

In theory that works, but theory and actual "boots on the ground" experience is different, at least with one pond we stocked. There were at least a pair of green sunfish in the pond (it seems). When the customer wanted to stock the predators, we did a quick net survey. We found 0 surviving recruitment except for 1,000's of Green Sunfish. Without predators to control their numbers, that population exploded and became the top predator in the pond, suppressing all the other fish in the pond.

To the OP, it's your call regarding the pond. We have seen fingerling bass get to 13" from May-late September when stocked in a one pond at the rate of 50 LMB to 2,500 BG/500 RES.

If it was my pond and I had the budget, I'd stock more panfish and stock the LMB at the rate of 50/surface acre. If you stock more LMB, I would be looking at starting to cull the slow growing ones using a relative weight chart to determine which ones to cull starting next Spring.

To reach your goals of large LMB, you will need the fastest growing ones of the bunch. No reason to keep feeding the slow growing ones.

If I can get my BG in by the end of the month will they have time to spawn before it’s to stock bass? And what about mixing the different LMB?

Wow - would this be true of straight Bluegill, becoming the top predator and not allowing stocker LMB to produce? What size stocker LMB would 'take' in a new pond loaded with bluegill or green sunfish? Thanks

Too many BG in a pond will surely reduce the recruitment of LMB in a pond, but usually that is a good thing in a small pond. As for what size, I would say that LMB the same length as the BG should avoid getting nipped like crazy. I have caught 10" BG on 4" crankbaits shaped like a BG.

Too many BG have shut down the LMB and BCP for the last two years. And I have some very large LMB. Got to witness the BG running in packs to gobble eggs whenever one got chased out bunch more would run in and gobble.....

Pat, our ponds are so different. I constantly work to increase BG and limit LMB. Maybe my HSB and winter trout play a role in that.

Pat, Maybe if you had more of that large sized lmb, you would have fewer bg and ( fewer crappie too. Bummer )
Well, that is what I saw at my pond. You might remember me saying I had no lmb reproduction for several years due to excess bg but eventually that turned as my numbers of the larger sized lmb grew.

Alan, welcome to Pond Boss.

As these guys know, I’m a green sunfish fan. A couple of things about them:
Since they only spawn annually, it’s tough for them to take over a pond. Bluegills have what we call a rolling spawn. That means they spawn multiple times per season. No contest on spitting out babies that feed bigger fish. But, a Green Sunfish will out fight a pansy bluegill every time.

Take over a pond. Yep, they can do it and I have a pond that is almost all greens. Of course, it has taken these mutts about 20 years since the last Texas drought dried up the pond.

If your goals are sunfish to feed bass, plain or copper nose bluegills are what you want. Stock about 10 pounds of fathead minnows per acre along with the bluegills. Feed a good quality feed. Let these over sexed fish spawn for a year and only then add bass and catfish if you want them. Keep the feeder going with a good quality feed until winter when they quit feeding.

After the second year of spawning, start culling small or under performing bass. They can over eat their food supply.

Never stop checking your Alkilinity and Ph.

Spend some time worrying about the bluegills and their health, size and well being. Manage for the groceries and the bigger predators will do just fine.

One last thing. Don’t lie to your wife about the cost of raising healthy fish. You’ll get caught every time.

It's always good to note the (high) cost of not-so-fresh fish when shopping at the supermarket (assuming you eat some of your own).

We raise our own beef, but always check the price of steaks etc. when shopping. We call it "kissing the cows."

Thanks for all the information in everyone’s post. Dave you’re right about the cost of a pond 😳 wow! I thought I was through spending money when the dirt work was completed. I’ve been feeding a purina game fish feed I’m unsure the protein. I built a good size pond and didn’t take in account when area increases everything including the cost to manage it increased. Good thing I have a wife that loves to fish as much as I do. I would like to ask a question about the GSH. They were an afterthought and I stocked them for an extra food source for bass in hopes they would reproduce and have enough recruitment to last for several years. But I read online after I released them that they are egg eaters and shouldn’t be stocked before the bass. I don’t know if I made a mistake. Does anyone have any experience with GSH? P.s. I tried to post this earlier on quick reply and must have done something wrong because when I just checked it it didn’t go out. I hope y’all will bare with me. I can operate a bulldozer better than I can a computer.