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#189308 10/26/09 07:15 AM
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What would the best fish choices for a 15 acre pond? I like the idea of a trophy bass pond. I am not quite sure about everything. here are the options

trophy bass pond
trophy bluegill pond
trophy channel catfish pond
trophy blue catfish pon

Please tell me what you think is the best.


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Welcome!

That's quite a few choices for a pond.

What part of PA is the water going to be in?



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Well I'm guessing that you'll get a variety of answers with that question. A 15 acre pond is a fairly large pond and can hold quite a bit of fish. One thing that you have to keep in mind is that when you're dealing with one of the larger predator fish (Large Mouth Bass, Channel Cat and Blue Cat) a "trophy" sized fish is a large fish. And any given body of water can only hold so many pounds of predators and so many pounds of forage. With 15 acres though you would have a much great carrying capacity then say a 3 acre pond (such as my pond).

For me I'm not looking for a "trophy" anything pond. I just want a good overall fishery. I would prefer higher catch rates. In my pond for example, being 3 acres, I couldn't hold that many trophy fish. I'll break it down for you. Let's say that a pond can hold 50 pounds of predators per acre (the actual amount will depend upon various factors hence you'll hear the saying "it all depends" quite a bit around here). And lets assume that a trophy bass is 10 pounds. Therefore my pond could hold 5 trophy bass per acre or 15 trophy bass in total. That's not very many bass. Eventually catching the same bass over and over could make them "hook smart" and more difficult to catch. So I would have the chance to catch a large bass each time I fished but it is unlikely that I'd catch one very often. You can see the basic idea here.

But that's just one opinion and I'm certainly no expert so hang on for others to chime in.


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PA? I want the pond to be used for trophy bass.

Last edited by bassmanager; 10/26/09 09:27 AM.

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My question is were is the 15 acre pond going to be? A LOT more information would be needed to offer suggestions on the management and stocking of 15 acres.

Variables needed to be known would include PH, topography, climate, watershed, feeding plans, aeration, geographic location, budget, experiance, etc.



Rainman #189348 10/26/09 10:51 AM
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Plus, Western Pennsylvania has a lot of elevation variances.


Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:"
"She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."

Sunil #189362 10/26/09 11:55 AM
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I think I would start a solid forage base from outside the box thinking.

Maybe about 50 pounds per acre of Bullheads, 500-1000 hybrid bluegill or Green sunfish per acre, 50 common carp per acre to eliminate weeds, and maybe 50 pounds per acre of Gizzard Shad.


Thoughts anyone?



Rainman #189370 10/26/09 01:00 PM
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;\)
















Rainman #189375 10/26/09 01:30 PM
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 Originally Posted By: Rainman
I think I would start a solid forage base from outside the box thinking.

Maybe about 50 pounds per acre of Bullheads, 500-1000 hybrid bluegill or Green sunfish per acre, 50 common carp per acre to eliminate weeds, and maybe 50 pounds per acre of Gizzard Shad.


Thoughts anyone?

No snakeheads?


"Live like you'll die tomorrow, but manage your grass like you'll live forever."
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Rainman #189376 10/26/09 01:41 PM
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 Originally Posted By: Rainman, except for the strike through of hybrid bluegill, which I added for clarity
.... 500-1000 hybrid bluegill or Green sunfish per acre...


This is the most intelligent stocking recommendation that I have seen in a long time.


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Theo, would Snakeheads compete with alligator gar?

Some freshwater drum would be cool too!



Rainman #189393 10/26/09 02:46 PM
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Don't leave out the bowfin.


www.hoosierpondpros.com


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3/4 to 1 1/4 ac pond LMB, SMB, PS, BG, RES, CC, YP, Bardello BG, (RBT & Blue Tilapia - seasonal).
esshup #189394 10/26/09 02:47 PM
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I find the white sucker to be a useful pond addition in Western PA.


Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:"
"She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."

Sunil #189403 10/26/09 03:07 PM
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Electric eels - to get a good charge.
















ewest #189406 10/26/09 03:17 PM
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A bull Shark or two would be cool, but they may thin the monstor Bass this thing is bound to produce!



Rainman #189408 10/26/09 03:19 PM
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Geez, while we're on helpful stocking tips, I'm shocked no one has yet recommended some nice Asian Carp.


Todd La Neve

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1.5 & .5 ac ponds - LMB, BG, RES, YP, GC, HSB
Todd3138 #189410 10/26/09 03:21 PM
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I wonder what therrien would suggest? He's a sharp rubber band when it comes to pond managment!

Last edited by Rainman; 10/26/09 03:23 PM.


Rainman #189415 10/26/09 03:43 PM
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Don't forget the snakeheads!


12 ac pond in NW Missouri. 28' max depth at full pool. Fish Present: LMB, BG, RES, YP, CC, WB, HSB, WE, BCP, WCP, GSH.
Rainman #189420 10/26/09 04:14 PM
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 Originally Posted By: Rainman
I wonder what therrien would suggest? He's a sharp rubber band when it comes to pond managment!


Or was that supposed to be "pond manglement?!"

It would probably begin with an in-depth analysis of what other places could be suitable to keep fish before ever getting to the pond angle! Or was that Animals' first post? Kind of tough keeping those two straight when I wasn't here yet for the Animals episode!

Hey, cool! Check it out - I finally hit 100 posts, even though #100 wasn't of much substance!

Last edited by Todd3138; 10/26/09 04:17 PM.

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Todd3138 #189439 10/26/09 07:19 PM
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Lol, poor bassmanager...

I don't have a ton of knowledge, but I think it would also be good to know what you consider a trophy bass fishery to be.

Either way, feel good because 15 acres is a nice chunk of water.


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Brutal...

Spell checker... Don't post without it!

Todd3138 #189498 10/26/09 11:35 PM
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 Originally Posted By: Todd3138

Hey, cool! Check it out - I finally hit 100 posts, even though #100 wasn't of much substance!



That's OK Todd. Jhaps first 2000 didn't have much substance either! \:D



Rainman #189524 10/27/09 10:31 AM
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 Originally Posted By: Rainman
That's OK Todd. Jhaps first 2000 didn't have much substance either! \:D


\:o \:o \:o

My posts taste great but they're less filling.

Besides, I didn't start with the jokes until my second post, so it's obvious I'm capable of restraint, I just choose not to use it. \:D

JHAP's first post, a trip down memory lane....

Last edited by jeffhasapond; 10/27/09 10:36 AM.

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Hey, do you still have the Max IV?


It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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 Originally Posted By: JHAP
I must say that color wise the GSF is one of the nicest looking fish I have ever seen.

What an innocent beginning! It's really quite tragic that Rainman and I weren't members yet, we might have been able to gently lead you down a different pathway in pond management, one that involved rotenone, lime, and dynamite. Followed, of course, by the stocking of higher quality pond residents, perhaps bullheads.

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