I am thinking about making a CNBG forage pond. Where I could grow some CNBG without predators present, and then in the spring transfer them to my main pond to boost CNBG numbers.
I have what I think is a perfect pond for it. It is .3 acres at full pool, but probably spends most of its time at .1-.2 acres. I would guess it at 6-8ft deep at full pool, and 4ft most of the time. It is a long and narrow pond, so I think I can make one pass with seine and do the whole pond. It has a U shaped bottom with no rocks, stumps etc. so easy to seine (right?).
I have never used a seine so this may be totally wrong pond, if not I have another pond that may be a candidate.
I have a few concerns:
First CNBG in the 2-6+ inch range can easily be seined by some competent operators?
It is a flow-through pond, if we get a big rain and it fills, the fish will have the option to get out. This usually only happens once a year in the spring. I can rig a fish gate on the spilway if I have to. Not sure it would help any tho if we really got a big rain.
How many CNBG to stock? if I stock them now going into winter what will I feed them FHM? fish feed? Not sure how much a CNBG will eat during winter. Will they do well if I just dump them in an empty pond? Im pretty sure it is void of any significant plant growth as it is very new, and has a clay/loam bottom.
Should I wait till spring then stock it, and grow them until summer on FHM and feed?
If I accomplish this how many adults should I leave in the pond to seed it for a future crop?
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