Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Stocking a new pond ?

Mike, main 2 acre pond aerated with three bottom membrane diffusers, as advised by Bill Cody and Todd Overton.

Thanks George, Todd will be actively involved in the process.

I really appreciate everyone's (DD, TG, Bruce, George, Eric) participation in this thread, ya'lls knowledge makes it easier for us novices.

Mike, I've been thinking about the possibility of later using white (sand) bass as a secondary tool to clobber bluegill. Although there is some documentation about them spawning on wind swept rocky shores, I believe they would be about as good as LMB without the chance of overspawning.

I don't know of any place to get them from a hatchery but they are fairly plentiful in area lakes. I know of nobody who has tried this combination but I think I might like it.

Eric, as usual, it all depends and each body of water is different.

The put and take aspect of the HSB is what, I think, might make a lot of people shy away from them. I'm referring to the expense of stocking over wintered HSB.

Sorry to come in on the hind-end of this thread.

This is a great thread, sustained both by theory and by experience from many members, in response to a very good question by Mr. Holliday.

We should be aware that largemouth bass and bluegill may find a way into the equation over time, regardless of Holliday's intentions. With this possible natural introduction of fish being likely in my opinion, maybe Mr. Holliday should go ahead and stock LMBs and bluegill from the start.

Here are some ideas:
Stocked all at same time

100 per acre combined HSBs and feed-trained LMBs at about the same size, 6"-8". Probably best to keep close to 50/50 mix of LMBs and HSBs.

500 3"-4" coppernose bluegill per acre
100 3"-4" redear sunfish per acre
10 lbs golden shiners per acre
20 lbs tilapia per acre every spring
2-3 grass carp per acre for weed control

Feed high protein pellets from 2-3 feeders/locations, aerate with bottom diffusers, control submerged vegetation, harvest lmbs down the road that are obviously not pellet trained, restock HSBs and feedtrained LMBs as needed to keep new age classes growing. Instead of tossing small LMBs on the bank when you intend to harvest, just cut their caudal fin off and toss them back in the water for easy LMB forage.

Todd - might work well. It would mean a good amount of mgt (which I think will be required no matter the plan) but which Mike may not want. The question I have is will it produce the amount of easy to catch BG (kids fishing) Mike noted. Might add to the plan periodic stocking of 4-6in pellet trained CNBG to augment the kids fishing point.

Todd: Nice to have you onboard with this now, it will save some discussion later. Why add the LMB artificially if you believe they will naturally occur? Second question relates to the catchablity issue of LMB, do you believe the pellet trained LMB do not exhibit as much hook shyness? If the LMB are more prone to develop hook shyness, what about decreasing the LMB % and increasing the HSB? Does that option upset the balance too much? Or do pellet trained fish appear easier to catch overall?

I'm open to all scenarios, just curious as to why the initial stocking would include equal %. Thanks for weighing in!

Eric, the mgt issue won't be a big deal, I think it will add to the overall family appeal of the pond. With my 3 boys, you can never have too much going on outside. I will pay money to see my wife start cutting off fins, but she'll certainly catch more than I will.

Thanks for more good questions. Artificially stocked LMB would be feed-trained, but naturally introduced LMB would not be feed-trained. So you can almost guarantee good growth rates for trained LMBs, but not for natural stocks. I would suggest the 50/50 ratio because I've seen it work well in the past. Take care to not stock too few feed-trained LMBs, for they might go off feed. Feed-trained LMB juveniles will feed on pellets in a school. Stock too few and for some reason they don't feel the competitive heat and will probably go off feed. I've had good results with 50+ feed-trained LMB per acre, but they must be at least 6" in size for best results. A competitive school of HSBs will also help to keep LMBs on feed when they are introduced.

In my experience, the feed-trained LMBs do not exhibit hook-shyness to the extend of their untrained relatives. I've seen them caught one after another, years after the original stocking, but I've also seen them shut off. It's still fishing, but feed-trained LMBs will give you better fishing in general. Some degree of hook-shyness should not disuade you from stocking LMBs anyway, especially since you will need them to control sunfish numbers.

I like growing and catching HSBs more than LMBs, but I realize the need to have these big-mouth predators for sunfish control. If you are going to have LMBs, why not grow some fat ones.

With high protein pellets AND a natural food base you should observe stellar growth rates.

I want to make it clear that my ideas and recommendations are not intended to be the final word or final post of this thread, even though I joined the thread a bit late. I am here to learn just like the rest of us, so I want to know what everyone thinks about Mike's plan. After all, I expect to get his pond and fish results posted on the forum in the future.

Excellent info Todd, thanks!