Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Stocking My Pond from Scratch

I've determined that my pond has no fish in it, which is kind of nice since I get to start from scratch and monitor growth, etc.

So, can y'all give me some recommendations on fish type, order of stocking, timeframe, quantity, etc?

The pond is 1/4 acre, 8' at deepest and I would guess about 2-3 years old. Water is clean and ph is good.

From what I've researched so far, my current plan is:

150 Channel Cat (Stocked 25 this weekend as a test)
100 Hybrid Bluegill
50 Redear Bream
2 lbs Minnows (Stocked 1 lb this weekend)

Is this a suitable quantity and combination? Should I stock one type before the other or all at once?

I still need to make a decision on an aerator and install the feeder.

I did sink a pallet in about a 1.5' of water for the minnows to spawn.

Long-term plan is just a little fishing hole and harvest some cats for the occasional fry.

From what I've learned on the forum the 25 CC will eat the 100 bluegill fairly quickly. I doubt you would then want to put in 125 more. What do you mean by bream if they are not bluegill? Crappie?

see also the Muskie thread that is active now. Dlowrance posted this:

I can tell you that I have had a similar problem with my small pond (slightly smaller in area than yours but deeper) and I have no Muskies....CC are 100% my problem. As Bocomo said, CC are also apex predators and will eat anything at all they can catch. Ask the 120 3-4" HSBs that I put in there a few years ago, never to be seen again.

And as fishnchips said, CC's are notoriously good learners specific to becoming hook shy. I'm in the middle of draining and resetting my little pond for this exact reason. IMHO your issue is probably the CC's at least as much as if not more than the muskies.

Canyon, yeah I did see that a few minutes ago. Hmmmmmm....

This is where I was getting my stock rates. This is one of our local suppliers.

OPTION #1 (minus the bass and crappie)

http://www.dunnsfishfarm.com/stock_rate.htm

The fish eating each other goes to my question about when to stock. If I'm stocking the 4" CC fingerlings with the 3" bluegill/redear, they wouldn't be eating them. Are growth rates the same though?

IMO From my experience, BG can spawn at a fairly young age. I think your cc need to be 3 pound+ before they really start hitting the BG. Maybe too late to prevent BG over population?

Bill, are you suggesting stocking the catfish first, letting them get slightly bigger (6 months? 1 year?), then stocking the bluegill? So then the larger catfish will keep the BG breeding under control?

One of the pros will be along with a good answer.

FWIW The "traditional" stocking scheme was always CC, BG and LMB where I grew up. I would question whether, in the long run, the CC can control the BG and RES population without help from another predator.

I have seen a couple small ponds where CC only has been able to effectively control the BG enough to prevent stunting. CC are not fed pellets in these ponds. I have to remember to go back this summer and recheck the fish status of one of these ponds. It would be very interesting to hear from others with just CC and BG or HBG.

So if I'm feeding pellets daily, I assume this will also have an impact on the CC feeding on the HBG?

Bill,

Do you remember whether they ladder stocked CC in those ponds or just did very limited or no harvesting of the CC?

For the pond closest to me it was a one time stocking. I haven't been back to it in about 10 years. I will try to get back there in June during the BG spawn and see what catch records show us. It is possible the owner stocked bass in the CC-BG pond.

Having CC as your only predator in your pond, remember to minimize their ability to reproduce--they are cavity nesters.
HBG are quick growers and do well in small ponds with no other bluegill, adding RE will give you more food for the catfish.

CC 100
HBG 150 (200)
RE 50 (0)
FHM 2-4lbs

In ponds were its LMB, your ratio of LMG:HBG is 1:15 per acre. Considering your feeding also, your watch how big the HBG & CC. CC can attain 1lb by fall when feed regularly.

Keep catch records of the fish, the fish will tell you how they are doing.

I would think so. I would do my best to minimize vegetation and cover in this pond, especially if you intend to feed.

Have you considered incorporating a few HSB, or single sex LMB into the mix as an insurance policy?

There is very little vegetation in the water. I am in the process of removing most of the small trees around the pond, just leaving two larger ones, one of which I'll be mounting the feeder on this weekend.

I'd actually prefer to put in some LMB, but after reading I was afraid to since I thought they would eat all of the other fish... I assume though that I could add them later on once the CC and HBG have a chance to grow beyond easy prey size.

With 1/4 acre I'd consider about 25 to 30 CC tops along with HBG, RES and Fatheads. In a drought it will shrink considerably.

Joshua has a good point. I have seen stunted CC in a pond without LMB to control the offspring of CC. Feeding the CC pellets and significant harvest of CC will minimize the stunting problem.

In regards to my earlier post those numbers are in generally a 1 acre pond, but that said...
Stocking higher rates mean more management of the pond, 1 pound catfish and 2/3 pound HSB will need to be taken out at some point.

The other key you are using is aeration. Dave also has a valid point on watching water level with this drought unless theres a water resource nearby.