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AJschol Offline OP
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I just recently found this site and I've had a great time reading about one of my favorite interests! I have 75'x130'x15'(1/2acre?) in West Michigan. I had it dug the summer of '03 and it filled up last winter. I had a little knowledge on pond stocking and last May of '04 I stocked it with 10# of Fatheads. I resisted the urge to follow up with Hybrid gills last fall and I figured I would wait till this spring. The fatheads are doing great and have reproduced many times. I had planned on stocking with 200 Hybrid Gills From Laggis's this spring but since I've fould this board I've gotten the impression that they might not be the best option. Hybrids are readily availble here and I haven't found a source for purebreds. I plan on giving the gills a year before stocking LMB.
I've got about a month before I have to decide. Thanks in advance for any opinions and/or sources.

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What do you want to do with your pond?

Since your pond is fairly small, a Put-and-Take fishery with Hybrid Bluegills (feed them pellets if you want, they should grow faster) with a small number of LMB to eliminate the relatively small numbers of F2 Offspring could work very well. You would have to restock the HBG as they are fished out, using juveniles large enough to escape LMB predation. Add some Channel Cats (also respond well to pelleted food) if you want.

If you really want to catch fairly big LMB, forget the HBG and find a way to stock pure BG to provide the necessary forage. This is supposedly a little hard with ponds under an acre (you will have fairly small numbers of your larger LMB), but I believe it's easier than many of the pond management schemes attempted (and pulled off!) by forum members. You should be able to find a source for pure BG with help from here.


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My goal with the pond is to provide recreational fishing with my kids and maybe an occasional fish dinner. I have a love for wetlands and pond life and really have fun being around it. I was hoping that I could provide a sustainable food chain so that I would'nt have to supplement with pellets but I have not ruled it out.

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The formula for calculating size of your pond is:
75 x 130 = 9750sq ft. There are 43,560 sq ft/acre, so your pond would be .22 acre. Research this site for BG(Bluegill) Vs HBG (Hybrid BG) for the pros & cons...the general consensus is to get the BG.

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Sustainable populations could be tough (but not impossible) on that small a pond. However you decide to go (BG or HBG), give feeding a try - you my find it a real kick. I was never planning on feeding my fish until my wife got me a 50 lbs bag of Purina Game Fish Chow for my birthday two years ago (last year she had to get me a bag every other week). I really enjoy feeding the fish and seeing them several times a week. It's extra time you get to see them and learn about them on top of fishing time. Plus, it helps out growing that "occasional fish dinner."


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And they grow much faster than the would on natural feeds and you can increase your carrying capacity substantially!


If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






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Thanks a lot for the info guys. I'm leaning towards the BG based on what I've learned on this board.
Next question, does anyone know of a source for BG in the West/southwest Michigan area. The suppliers in my area really push the HBG hard and don't offer BG.

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Are bluegills the best choice? With their tiny mouth, they won't do much to impact the fathead population. In warmer climes, this can turn into a biomass problem. What happens in colder areas? Starting with 10 pounds seems like borrowing trouble. If the Hybrids have a larger mouth, I might just go with them and have a put and take fishery.

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Dave, are you saying that my goals for my 1/4 acre pond are unattainable? Are 5-6" BG unable to prey on the young fatheads? Sure they won't be able to eat the adult fatheads but I would think the LMB will have them under control next year. The reason that I'd rather not do the "put and take" fishery is that I don't want to be at the mercy of the hatchery every year. Thanks for your opinions.

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Bluegills normal prey is bugs. They have a tiny mouth. I expect they can eat a small fathead but you are going to have a heap of young fatheads. They are very prolific but then I don't know anything about cold water forage. Managing LMB's in anything less than one acre is a character builder. Lots of posts here about it. Take a look. If I wanted LMB's, I would go with all females in a 1/4 acre pond.

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AJ - You have pretty small pond; 0.22 acre at max water height; smaller when water level is lower.

Were you planning on or are you willing to feed the fish pellets on a regular basis; 3 to 5 times a week?


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I will definately consider supplementing with pellets to achieve the goals that I have for my pond. Does 200 BG this April and 50 LMB next spring sound like a good rate?

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AJ - I have another stocking combination for you to consider instead of bgill, Hybrid bluegill bass combination.

Since you already have a good start with a fathead minnow supply go over to Laggis's after the perch spawn (early May)(call first) and get about 80 -100 of his 4"-5" pellet trained yellow perch. Try to get them AFTER spawning season; ask Laggis for sure about the about the time. While there to get fish, ask to buy some of the feed that he has been using to feed those perch (1/2 to one 40 lb bag). Laggis uses real good quality fish food. The 40 lbs should last you all summer. If you feed on a regular basis the perch will be 8"-10" long by fall. If you stock 100, you and the kids can catch a few out in fall to eat (10-20) or wait till spring of 2006 for a small fish fry. If you stock only 60 this spring (2005) wait till fall of 2006 or spring of 2007 for the first small fish fry. Second year in your pond the original stock of perch should range from 10"-13" long.

The perch will spawn in 2006, I suggest you remove all the egg masses that you find along the shore to minimize hatching success. Buy your self a couple minnow traps and catch out some of the young perch to thin their numbers. OR THEN go back to Laggis' and get yourself 8 - 15 (4"-5") smallmouth bass (SMB) not largemouths (LMB). Laggis' SMB are also pellet trained. The bass will eat pellets and help reduce some of the small perch numbers.

The SMB will very likely spawn in your pond in spring of 2007 or 2008. Keep an eye on their numbers so they do not get too abundant and comsume all the small perch. Thin them if necessary. Many of the surving small perch will learn to eat pellets and a lot of the slower growing, non pelleting eating, small perch will be consumed by the SMB. Remove any skinny thin perch you catch while fishing with the kids. Perch and SMB are just as easy to catch as bgill and LMB.

Since you provided your email address in your profile, I will email over the next few days more info on raising yellow perch in a smallpond. I have several pond owners near me that raise only perch in their ponds and each year catch out a nice bunch of fish to eat. It can be done with the right methods.

You should easily be able to grow 12"-14" perch in your 1/4 acre pond with pellet feeding and good numbers management.

If you ever get tired of the perch pond or perch - SMB pond, just stock bluegill and LMB and they will after about 4-6 yrs pretty much crowd out most all the perch and smallmouths.


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Thanks Bill, I had never given perch as a thought because I have heard that they stunted fast. I will give this a try and use your tips to leep the population fromm stunting. I'll let you know how it works out. Thanks

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Practically all fish will develop stunted numbers if their populations are not balanced or managed. From my experiences working with them for the last 15 years, I don't think yellow perch will develop a stunted population much faster than most of the sunfishes. Predation pressure is always very important for obtaining proper growth when dealing with reproducing fishes. Yellow perch can be a good alternative to bluegills or hybrid bluegills in the northern pond. Raising fish is all about proper management. Proper management is knowing what to do and when to do it. All us members try and provide that information here at the Pond Boss forum.

If you closely follow my advice you can easily grow 13" to 14" yellow perch in your 0.25 acre Michigan pond.


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Hello AJ,

I just found this site tonight & I am really excited about it. I,like you, was trying to find some info on bluegills vs. hybrid bluegills. I'm your neighbor a little south. I live in Muskego (Milwaukee), WI. My pond is about the same size as yours. Mine is +/- 100' diameter and 20' deep. We just re-did it. We re-dug it and put in a liner. Reason: when we first built it, we did not hit a spring and were at the mercy of the water table. Long story short and several thousands of $ later, we decided to start over with a liner...so far...so good. I'm still filling it...almost 100% full now.

Just so you know, I'm no rookie with this. Besides the pond, I have a 2,000 gal. recirculating system that I raise koi in and do aquaponics as well.

The main reason I'm responding to you is that I noticed a couple of things that sent up red flags to me. Someone mentioned stocking LMB with your bluegills. LMB will EAT your bluegills. There is a real debate as to whether hybrid bluegills will grow larger/faster than regular bluegills. (The sellers of the hybrids will swear that they do. I just tonight found an article that states that male bluegills will outgrow hybrid bluegills by a 4 x 1 ratio......given the same feed ratio.) The main reason for stocking hybrid bluegills is that they don't, as a general rule, reproduce.

If you want some real fun......stock channel catfish. They are AWESOME to watch when fed.....especially if you have a BUG LIGHT. You must get one of these. They produce an awesome amount of free food for the fish.

I could just go on and on, but I won't...just try to have fun with your pond. I love mine..They will attract bats, frogs and just provide immeasurable hours of enjoyment.

Later.......Steve

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Steve, thanks for the post and welcome to this board. There are many people here that I belive will disagree with the notion that LMG and BG will not work together. With the right numbers and good habitat the LMB should keep the BG #'s in check to prevent over population.
I've recieved some great info from Bill Cody as you'll see in the previous posts about maintaining a good perch fishery. Check them out as this could be a good option for you to.
Any recomendations on a bug light? Are they all the same or is any one size or brand better than the other. Also, how close to the water and how do you have it mounted? I've already run power out there for an aerator so I should be set.
Thanks, Aaron

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Aaron, you may have misunderstood the information on bass and bluegill mixture. It is the most recommended mixture. However, it is not the BG numbers that need to be controlled. It is the bass. One successful spawn and you have bass clobbering all of your young of the year bluegills and a bunch of stunted bass. All of this relates to the 1/3 acre size of your pond. Bass are seldom recommended for anything less than one acre. Even then, it takes fairly intense management. However, the mix will work if you want large bluegills. The small bass eat every small bluegill and leave very little competition for the remaining large ones.

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AJ Go to the photo page of which you will find four, I believe my pic of a mounted Buglite Fish feeder is there on the last page.I mount them about 3-4 feet out over the water. Complete instructions are listed in the products page on my homepage. Ted

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For a small pond like that stock green sunfish.

They have big mouths and will feed on your minnows.

They will overpopulate providing hours of fun for your kids to go fishing.

And then you can catch out the excess and use them to go flathead catfishing...

At least that is what I would do but I like to fish for big catfish and a pond full of stunted sunfish would provide a ready supply of bait.

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I believe this is the first time I've ever seen anyone recommend green sunfish. The general thought is that they should be avoided because they compete with gamefish with their large mouths. Since they only spawn annually, overpopulating is much less of a risk than with bluegill. I'm not aware of any hatchery selling them. Must be a reason.

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I'm only reccomending them if the poster likes to fish for big flathead and blue catfish. They are good bait.

Otherwise there is no reason stock green sunfish.

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Not to hi-jack your thread ajschol, but I too am intrested in a perch/smb combo. I am in Mt.Pleasant, MI and have a little over 1/2 acre pond. I just dug it last summer, and now It's full. Just waiting for the Ice to come off! So my question would be how many fatheads should I stock this spring, and when and how many perch/smb to stock? The pond averages 10', with a few 15-20' holes. Thanks to all with any info.!


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Ted, I like the bug light idea, but my requirements would have to be met using solar power. Are you aware of any solar-powered bug lights on the market?

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S-tarpon - As with growing other sportfish, first establish your food base. Then the numbers of sportfish to stock depends on what sizes you intend to initially stock and how fast you want to start harvesting fish. Also feeding the fish pellets affects how many can be stocked and maintained in the pond.

If you decide to stock all fish at once then this dramatically affects how many forage fish you initially stock. Lots of variables including use of pond dye can enter the stocking picture

Normal or average stocking (0.5 acre) - Spring 200-300 adults (2.25-2.5" = 150-200/lb) before water temp is 64F.. Allow to spawn all summer. If you stock minnows and sportfish together then stock about 40 to 60 lbs of minnows / 0.5 ac. A 0.5 ac pond should be able to grow about 40 -50 lbs of minnows in one summer.

Fall 05 or Spring 06 Stock perch fingerlings approx 200 / 0.5 ac.

Fall 06 or spring 07 Stock 20 -25 SMB fingerlings.

Thin perch and SMB based on how many forage fish are present.


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