Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations New pond owner

Hi all
New to this, never had a pond before the new house. supposedly this pond had been stocked years ago but nothing in there now but a few painted turtles.

My friend can give me as many minnows and blue gill as I want from a river by his house. Is there any reason I wouldn’t want to do this?

Thanks,
Steve

The pond likely has issues with low dissolved oxygen in summer/winter leading to a fish kill, which would explain the lack of fish in the pond.

As far as fish from the river--stocking "minnows" from the river could likely lead to the introduction of unwanted species. Carp, bullheads, white perch, yellow bass etc.

Best to throw a cast net to make sure there is nothing left in the pond, then stock out forage minnows from a bait shop/fish dealer a few months prior to the introduction of sportfish.

Welcome Steve,

How big is the pond and how deep is the pond? The more information that you can provide the better the members can respond with help.

If it were me, I would look at some of the fish farms in the area. I am also in northeast OH. Normally,the soil and water companies have a day where Fenders Fish will come up and sell good fish.

What methods have lead you to believe that there are no fish? How does the water look? Muddy, Turbid or clear?

Welcome.

Don't hurry - ask and study and learn now, plan on acting come Springtime. Commercial Fish Farms won't be shipping until then anyway.

The pond is 175’x70’. Don’t know how deep it is , I don’t have a boat to depth check but would say it dose drop off 5’ foot in around perimeter. There it’s at least 6’ deep, that’s how long my stick was.

The house sat vacant for over a year before we got it. Pond was covered with duckweed or some sort of green funk. (Shown by google earth) Unfortunately The seller had it treated by a pond co just before we looked at the house.

Have seen 5 painted turtles, a bunch of tadpoles, frogs, and one snake. Not one damn fish. Believe me, I may not be the best fisherman but I can usually at least get a nibble. Nothing from this pond,

Water is clear enough to see in 4-6 feet then murky/muddy.

I agree with Theo. Wait and learn about the pond first, it may be cheaper in the long run to get the numbers you need from a fish supplier. IF you do transfer fish, you MUST be sure of the fish ID and I'd research how to do a salt dip of the fish plus "rinse" them 3x to make sure you don't introduce any invasive species or plants into the pond from the river.

Too cold to be stocking fish right now anyway, you've got a few months to learn about the pond.

You can check depth by using a heavy weight on a rod/reel with a slip bobber. Use a weight heavy enough to sink the bobber. Keep casting to the same spot and adjusting the weight until the bobber barely floats. Then cast around the pond to find the deepest area. Measure from bobber to weight and you have your depth.

Approx 1/4 acre. I would probably stock about 25 channel cats and a couple of pounds of hybrid bluegills plus a pound of red ear sunfish. Feed a good quality fish food and fish it in about a year.