Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Can I attempt rainbows?

I had a 1/4 acre pond dug on my property in Northwestern Michigan in the summer of 2010. The ground water level is anywhere from 2-4 feet below ground level depending on rainfall, temps, etc. The property is 100% pure sand. While the pond was being dug the hole filled extremely fast. The deepest part of the pond is usually 8-10 feet if water, but the water level is extremely low right now due to the drought conditons (around 7 feet deep). I don't believe I have any actual springs, but I'm assuming the ground water flow is pretty good (old maps show a creek running through the property in this general location).

I want to keep trout in the pond. I know over wintering is not an issue since i put in a few 'test fish' (1 bluegill and about a dozen goldfish) and the pond never froze completely even after several weeks a below 0deg temps. As mentioned above, I don't think I have any actual springs, but the water is usually very cool. I measured the temp this weekend (after 2 months of the hottest weather Michigan has ever seen) and the surface temp (at around 4PM) was 74deg. The temp near the bottom was around 70deg. Normally, the temp difference is noticably different, but i'm assuming the thermocline is almost non-existant due to the low water levels.

So what does everyone think? Should I try 5 or 6 rainbows and see how they do?

Thanks!

All you have to lose is 5 or 6 rainbows... Dissolved oxygen is gonna be your biggest issue. Temp isn't everything with trout.

Ditto although I'd feel more confident if your lowest temp was below 70.

I think CJ and Cecil covered everything in 2 posts!

Well, I dumped in ~1000 FHM and qty (6) 10-12" rainbows a few weeks back. I took it as a good sign that 2 days after planting, I saw a few trout launch out of the water grabbing either bugs or FHM on the surface.

I know with freshly stocked aquarium fish, the first few hours is critical and if they last more than 24 hours, 90% of the worrying is over. Would the same hold true for trout in a pond (assuming stable water conditions)?

I'm heading up this weekend to verify that they are still alive. If I don't see them, I will do a little fishing (barbless of course) and see if I can get one to bite.

Good luck w/the trout. We have tried RB (a total of 300 over the last 3 yrs) and lost the last 100 we stocked this summer due to the extreme heat. The first two yrs. it seemed ok, caught some nice 16", then nothing since. But maybe you will have better luck or the heat won't last nearly as long next yr.

Same here as nils, i have spring water flow and depths of 18ft also. This summer has been brutally hot. Some of my larger browns died too.

Update: So the original RT have been in the pond for a month. 2 weeks ago (and again this past weekend) I observed them rising to eat grasshoppers that I caught and threw in. I can only assume my pond can be considered 'suitable' for trout since they have made it through the toughest summer here on record. The maximum surface temperature recorded was 74deg after a prolonged 90+ degree period lasting nearly a week. The temp at the bottom was 70 deg. I took a temp reading this past weekend now that the weather has normalized and it was 64 at the surface and 61 at the bottom (brrrrr! That was chilly taking that measurement!!). The water is still several feet low with a measured max depth of 5'8" (typical is 6'9" at this time of year and over 9' in the spring). My neighbors pond down the road is about 10' deeper on average and hit surface temps hit the mid 80's. I have to assume my success over this crazy hot summer is due to a significantly high ground water flow. I can't think of any other way the water would have stayed that cool.

Based on these results, I decided to add a few more fish. I picked up (5) 8" brown trout and (5) 14-16" RT. I wanted the bigger fish to help eliviate my goldfish problem (I wanted large browns but couldn't find a hatchery with them in stock). What a nice addition the browns make. The only time I would catch a glimpse of my RT was when tossing in 'bugs'. The BT are constantly cruising 1-2 feet down and harassing my fatheads without rest. I could just sit and watch them for hours (which I did this past weekend). This was a pleasant surpise since I don't think I had seen reference to this behavior during my hours and hours of cruising 'trout stocking' articles. This being the case, I will always plan on keeping some browns in my pond.

Now for the next test: Over wintering. I plan on leaving the current occupants in the pond to assess it's overwintering abilities (well, maybe minus one or 2 of those 16" RT ). I suspect I will have good results since it never froze over completely last year even during -20 F temps.

Yes, brown trout are far more piscavorous, even at smaller sizes than rainbows. Rainbows tend to prefer invertebrates, even when bigger. Brown trout will gladly take invertebrates, but if there is a meaty meal to be had they are after it.