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#510182 08/12/19 04:02 PM
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I just finished digging a new pond in North Texas and found this forum. A lot of great information from my first visit. My pond is small, 1/3 acre. It's already has about 5-6 feet of water in it from either ground water or potentially I tapped into a small spring. The deepest parts will be about 20' then at about 10' they taper up to the shore. PH is 7.4. From what I'm reading, it looks like if I want to keep LMB and BG in it, I need to put structure in it asap. After structure, it seems like I'm good to put in Fathead Minnows. Sound correct? Thanks
Danbob

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Zep Offline
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looks like ya have a great project going....welcome


Fishing has never been about the fish....

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Welcome.


Brad
1.5 acre pond with LMB, BG, BCP, CC, FHM and lots of crayfish, unknown type. .5 acre pond with FHM and GSF. 12 acre irrigation reservoir that I don't know what to do with. New pond, roughly 1.5 acres. Pond Boss Subscriber.
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Believe I would wait until the water clears and cools down a little.


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
Zep #510207 08/13/19 08:59 AM
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Danbob Offline OP
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Thank you!

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Thanks!

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Thanks. In 24 hours, it's cleared up quite a bit. Here's a pic from last night, probably about 5' visibility now. At what water temperature would you be comfortable putting in FHMs? Thx.

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Welcome! You've definitely found THE spot for information on pond management and growing fish.

Looks like you're well underway on a fun project. If you ever feel like you're getting in the weeds on the pond construction project, there are a lot folks on here that have forgotten more about moving dirt to make a hole for water than I'll ever know. Best wishes and welcome to the forum!

If you haven't already, you should consider subscribing to Pond Boss magazine. It is a valuable resource... you'll be glad you did! wink

cheers,
Clayton


96.85840735 percent clayton... the rest is just pi.

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Where are you DanBob? North Texas covers a lot of real estate.


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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Danbob Offline OP
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Lucas, TX. We're not big enough for our own zip code so we have to share with our little neighbor Allen! 75002.

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No more than 80 degrees for stocking. Preferably cooler


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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I’ve stocked bass anf bluegills in ponds that size but not with any long range success. They both spawn pretty heavily and you can come up with out of balance conditions. How do you feel about channel cats and hybrid bluegills?


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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Danbob Offline OP
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Thanks. I'll check the temp. It appears the spring/water table has pushed it up another 4-5" over the last 5 days even with these 100 degree days. So I'm pleased with that. Once we get a real rain, I'll get some fill. I'm not a fan of the catfish and I don't want to get that started, but the Hybrid Bluegill are perfect. I called Texas Fishing LLC (www.ufishtx.com) and they will have FHM in mid-September and he said he'd make a few calls to see if he could find any mosquitofish which is what I'd prefer to start with. I'm doing some final grading around it this weekend and I'll add some artificial structure also. Know any place to get the mosquitofish around here?
Thanks again.

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Not at this time of year. Stocking needs to happen before the water gets too hot. We generally quit messing with or even fishing when the water temps get above 87 degrees. Catching them can stress them to much and generally results in mortality.


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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Have you considered HSB, hybrid striped bass? They can't overpopulate since they won't successfully spawn. Harder fighters than LMB.


7ac 2015 CNBG RES FHM 2016 TP FLMB 2017 NLMB GSH L 2018 TP & 70 HSB PK 2019 TP RBT 2020 TFS TP 25 HSB 250 F1,L,RBT -206 2021 TFS TP GSH L,-312 2022 GSH TP CR TFS RBT -234, 2023 BG TP TFS NLMB, -160




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HBG and HSB in a take and replace fishery would be great for this size of pond.

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I am in my second season with my 1/4 acre HSB/HBG/RES pond and am having a good time with it. The HBG have been spawning and I do NOT expect the HSB to at all. It's hard to tell how much recruitment the HBG have produced, but I would venture a guess and say minimal. Occasional trapping produces some of last year's recruits and a fair amount of this year's. Last years recruits are typically too big for my HSB to feed on so I remove them and return this year's smaller fish.

My HSB went in 4-6" long and are now at the 2 pound mark (a summer and a half of growth), while the HBG were 3-5" long and hover around 1/2 pound. I supplemental feed with few coming to the dinner bell, BUT the big gain in weights is believed to have come from FHM's. I put in the FHM's and gave them a full year before stocking the gamefish. I am a believer in this approach!


Fish on!,
Noel
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I have to admit that I've spent several hours reading a lot of posts now that I've found PB. And, I've spend a lot of time reading Quarter Acre's posts!!! I think the HBG and the HSB are gaining traction in my mind. But I'm also reading that the HSB can be a little shy on lures if I'm looking for some "catching" instead of just "fishing". I'm not hearing a lot of difference between FHM and Mosquitofish, so it sounds like if FHM are available in mid-September, then I should pull the trigger on them and get started. I'll send some pics on Monday after I get a little structure in it with pallets and stuff. How many pounds of FHM should I start with?

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3 or 4 pounds would be plenty to seed the pond, but you don't have much time left in this breeding season. It's probable over by the end of September herein Missouri. Not sure about your area. 3 to 4 pounds would be right for stocking in the springtime giving the whole summer (or most of it) for the reproduction explosion.

Do you plan on stocking game fish next spring?

If so, then I would suggest alot more, but how many more...I can't guess. Two months breeding time is OK (read, better than less), but their reproduction numbers are exponential and 4 to 5 months of breeding time will yield A LOT more minnows.

If not, just stock the FHM in april/may and stock your game fish the following spring.

As far a hook shy HSB. I have not found them to be easy or abundant to catch. You could stock a moderate amount of them initially and then start bucket stocking single sex LMB. I have thought about this, but hate to risk a sexing mistake and introducing a reproducing population. I am happy with the catch rates of the HBG and will be happy with the HSB as a population control tool. If my HBG start to overpopulate even with ladder stocking the HSB, single sex LMB may be introduced.


Fish on!,
Noel
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Originally Posted By: Quarter Acre
As far a hook shy HSB. I have not found them to be easy or abundant to catch


I have stocked 10-15 HSB in my 4 acre pond the last 3-4 years...and I rarely saw any of them. Caught one or two on a lure. Then this year we switched to minnows, worms, shrimp and now we catch more fish in general and we are catching HSB. I've never tried fly-fishing for them, but intend to try sometime.


Fishing has never been about the fish....

Zep #510397 08/16/19 04:15 PM
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Originally Posted By: Zep
Originally Posted By: Quarter Acre
As far a hook shy HSB. I have not found them to be easy or abundant to catch


I have stocked 10-15 HSB in my 4 acre pond the last 3-4 years...and I rarely saw any of them. Caught one or two on a lure. Then this year we switched to minnows, worms, shrimp and now we catch more fish in general and we are catching HSB. I've never tried fly-fishing for them, but intend to try sometime.


Do you have TFS? Wonder how they'd work as bait.


7ac 2015 CNBG RES FHM 2016 TP FLMB 2017 NLMB GSH L 2018 TP & 70 HSB PK 2019 TP RBT 2020 TFS TP 25 HSB 250 F1,L,RBT -206 2021 TFS TP GSH L,-312 2022 GSH TP CR TFS RBT -234, 2023 BG TP TFS NLMB, -160




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Originally Posted By: anthropic
Do you have TFS?


I don't...although I've thought about adding them...but they seem hard to come by?

Originally Posted By: anthropic
Wonder how they'd work as bait.


I bet they would work great.


Fishing has never been about the fish....

Zep #510416 08/16/19 11:13 PM
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TFS are hard to come by. Back in spring I put in orders at two places that supposedly had them, neither came through.


7ac 2015 CNBG RES FHM 2016 TP FLMB 2017 NLMB GSH L 2018 TP & 70 HSB PK 2019 TP RBT 2020 TFS TP 25 HSB 250 F1,L,RBT -206 2021 TFS TP GSH L,-312 2022 GSH TP CR TFS RBT -234, 2023 BG TP TFS NLMB, -160




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Catching verses fishing? When it comes to catching in a smaller pond I don't think it makes much difference in whether it's lmb or hsb because they will both become hook shy if pond is fished too much. My hsb are not hard to catch but I have good numbers of them and different sizes due to ladder stocking the past 3 yrs and we don't fish for either species all that often. Never have used live bait but maybe someday it might be necessary. For now, I just change my lures and tackle. One day fly fishing and the next time might be dragging a tube jig on the ponds bottom or a swim bait.

Last edited by TGW1; 08/17/19 07:51 AM.

Do not judge me by the politicians in my City, State or Federal Government.


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Danbob Offline OP
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Great information folks, I really appreciate it. Sounds like if it cools down some I might be able to throw in some FHM in late September, if not, I could get an early start in the spring here in Texas. The pond is still coming up about an inch a day even with 100+ temps right now. Surface temp is 87 degrees. Here's a couple of pics, the water is so blue, one neighbor accused me of putting in chemicals already. I did about 20 hours of dirt work this weekend and need another 10 or so. I wish my neighbor who loaned me his tractor would have bought a bigger one! Water level should go up to about where the dog is in the one pic. I put some structure in, but I didn't take any pics given the water got all stirred up and made it look bad. I also had several visits from a roadrunner. Seemed he wanted a drink and he wanted me to leave.

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