Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Stocking New Pond

Have a small 1-1.5 acres pond 50 miles south of Kansas City, Kansas. Built last fall, it is close to reaching the spillway. The pond is only 7.5' deep at its deepest point.

My pond will be used for family fishing enjoyment. Want to stock Bluegill, LMB, and Channel Cat.

Question is, what should I do to prepare the pond for fish?
pH...lime?? Stuctures...etc. Would you suggest I stock bluegill and fathead minnow this spring and add Channel Cat and LMB next year?

Any suggested stocking rates and good fisheries in my area would be most helpful.

Thank you all in advance for your assistance.

Raccoon Valley Fishery is due east of you in Cass County, Mo. It is just south of Pleasant Hill on 7 hwy. Maybe an hour or two drive.

If you want structures, try to collect as many Christmas trees as possible. Then place them at various locations in your pond. I have used two cinder blocks and tied two small trees to the blocks and dropped them in about 20 ft. behind a pier in about 7 feet of water.

Thanks h20fwlkillr...I visited RVF and they are stocking my pond tomorrow.

Good for you. I have got fish from them several times and been quite pleased. Healthy fish and affordable prices.

It was stocking day today and my two kids had a blast. RVF upgraded my catfish to the next size up at no extra charge. Stocked fathead minnows, bluegill, redear, and catfish.

So far so good!!

Fish Blast
Catfish

I am in more or less the same boat as you.

I didn't even know I needed structure. I was going to haul a large tree trunk to the pond and float it. Didn't know I needed "structure".

I called a local radio talk show manned by two top area fisherman. I am not saying they are pond experts, the are fishing experts. They suggested Bluegill, LMB, a couple pike. They both agreed on that. Then in unisom they said "NO FATHEADS". I saw people suggesting fatheads and they said no fatheads or carp. The subject of catfish never came up. Should I get the same thing as you?

LMB
Bluegill
Channel cat (too cold here?)
fatheads?

I haven't heard of a redear?

Lew

Goldenpond
I think you will want to avoid the pike.In smaller waters they will eat everything they can get in their mouths. It is hard to maintain a forage base large enough in a pond for predators like pike.

Goldenpond, I would agree that do not stock Pike in a small pond unless that’s all you want there in a very short order. One of the problems that you got when you asked the radio show hosted by fishermen is that you got an answer of what people would like in a pond for fishing, not what is a best fit for that pond or what plays and lives well together.

They also stated no fathead, and I assume they didn’t want that because it provides a natural forage fish and they thought it would lessen their chances of catching fish if there was a good natural base for the food chain.

You will see this advise over and over again on here and I can't stress it enough. You decide what you want to fish for. Also decide if you are building a trophy fish type fishery or a general fishery for kids and alike. Ther eare different approaches and different mixes for either approach. Determine if the pond will support that mix and determine if you are going to do a put and take effort or if you want to try and rely on natural reproduction ( some species will not do that well in a pond )

Once you have decided the mix, then start building the eco system. Start with the basics and don't put anything in until you have an algae bloom. The add the forage fish ( fatheads, shiners, ...etc ) Give them time to establish a good population as well as letting your pond establish good cover for the forage fish prior to adding the next rung up the food chain. This can be as little as a few months or as long as a year. ( I waited 6 months prior to adding perch to my fathead and crayfish ) If you are going to go with a bluegill, LMB mix or like me a perch SMB mix add the perch or bluegill next but give them a season to establish. Then add the top of the food chain after that.

I know it seams like allot of time, but the time spent up front building a sustainable eco system and food chain will pay off ten fold as you go further in time. I have not yet put my SMB in my pond yet but I have seen the payoff with a health pond and a perch and fathead population that will help support the SMB when they are introduced. Truth be told that when doing it this way it also is more enjoyable to see the eco system that you worked on come together and work in harmony. I have truly enjoyed the eco system building experience more than the fishing one.

Good luck and if you want to know numbers of different mixes of fish then I would say look at a few of the threads and you will find some great suggestions there. The best advise I can give you though is to think like a piece of the food chain and a pond builder and not like a fisherman ( aka the radio show guys ) and you will end up with something that will provide great joy in many ways for years to come.

Do you think the radio hosts were talking about "Flatheads" not "Fatheads"???

Just curious.

Goldenpond,

The Redear Sunfish (Lepomis microlophus) is a close relative of the Bluegill. They get a little longer than BG, but are not quite as tall as a BG of the same length. The do not reproduce as prolifically as BG. In addition to providing alternative forage and fishing opportunities, they are equipped with pharyngeal teeth which let them eat snails. They are often stocked to lower snail numbers and hence the incidence of snail-born parasites such as yellow and black grubs in fish flesh.

They were originally native to the area of the U.S. roughly South and East of the Wabash River in Indiana. They have some trouble Wintering over in colder water; the current extended range includes the lower peninsula of Michigan and, farther West, at least as far North as (some of) Nebraska. At these Northernmost limits, they may not survive in all bodies of water and may require careful Winter aeration to prevent supercooling.

I do not think RES would survive in "Minnesnowta" (I like that spelling!). If you are interested in snail/parasite control, the northern sunfish equivalent of the RES is the Pumpkinseed (Lepomis Gibbosus) which should survive in MN but does not get as big as BG. Or you could stock Yellow Perch, which Cecil Baird reports will consume and control snails. You would have to watch either of these species to prevent overpopulation, just like with BG.

My purpose for stocking the pond is just for the "life cycle" purpose or whatever you would call it. Control insects, especially mosquitos. I might be selling my place and having property close to the city that can be hunted and fished should add value.

For myself I want what has the greatest chance of surviving excluding junk fish like carp and bullheads. To saleability I would like there to be some gamefish and I have read here to avoid crappies, my father's favorite. Both the DNR and the fisherman suggest LMB and BG and I saw on here that Channel Cats are also a favorite and they are native to this climate, although the records cats were caught in the nearby rivers.

Since there are "bugs" in the pond I thought the fatheads could eat them. I didn't know I had to have algae for them to eat? It looks like I am beginning to get some algae in the shallow water. It has been really cold here..just the other day we had snow and sleet but warmer days have arrived and it should continue to be warm.

Thanks for the info on the Sunfish. I heard of Pumpkinseed when checking the DNR site for native species...this is what they said:

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STATE RECORDS
Bluegill: 2 pounds, 13 ounces, length not available, Alice Lake (Hubbard County), 01/09/1984.

Green: 1 pound, 2.7 ounces, 11.4 inches, Scheuble Lake (Carver County), 1948.

Pumpkinseed: 1 pound, 6 ounces, 10.1 inches, Leech Lake (Cass County), 06/06/1999.

Hybrid: 1 pound, 12 ounces, 11.5 inches, Zumbro River (Olmsted County), 07/09/1994.


Minnesota has several sunfish species, but the most popular with anglers are the bluegill and the pumpkinseed. Both are found in most of the state's lakes and streams. Both spawn from late May well into the summer. The bluegill tends to grow larger than the pumpkinseed. Though both have a blue spot on the ear flap, the pumpkinseed also has some bright orange at the very edge of the flap. Also, bluegills tend to be mostly olive colored while pumkinseeds are more orange colored.

Sunfish are particularly prone to "stunting." Lakes that have good spawning habitat but not much food can produce swarms of small adult sunnies that never grow larger than four or five inches.
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Thanks!