Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose New 3 acre pond and wanting bluegill and walleye

Im in the design phase of a 3 acre pond in southern IL. Approximately 1 acre of the pond will be 11-12' deep. I had some preliminary drilling performed and encountered shale below 13'. I plan to aerate. I also plan to place pea gravel at 3-4' depth for approximately 1000 sf area for spawning. My dream pond would have bluegill, redear and walleye only. I realize I'll probably have to continue stocking walleye in the future. I'm OK with adding LMB if needed to control bluegill population. I'm looking for stocking suggestions.

I am pretty positive that if you add BG to the WE-YP mix you will after about 3-4 years need to add LMB to keep the BG growing well and keep from becoming overpopulated. I hope not; but I think nature's way will have a different plan than your current plan. If it works well for you others could learn from your experiences. Return annually to this thread to let us know how the fishery progresses.

Agree with Bill. Both YP and BG are known to overpopulate and stunt without adequate predation present. Will you be feeding the fish ? SMB may also be a possibility.

I don't plan on stocking yellow perch, but I do intend on feeding.

Larger numbers of smaller (10-15") WAE will do a good job on small BG. For WAE to work with BG you'll have to pull walleye 15+ and replace with 8-10" fish regularly or the BG will get out of hand.
LMB may be required for control but the problem I see there is a 3lb bass can eat an 8-10" WAE pretty easily.
I can see this could be a potential razor edge balance act.
If you're planning to feed, it'll be the BG only, I don't think you'll get WAE to take pellets with any consistency if at all.

I didn't know this about Walleye, that is, that they can adequately control BG if in large numbers and smaller sizes. But it makes sense as it is probably true of most predators in combination with BG.

BG are without a doubt the strongest of all lepomis in terms of resisting predation through reproduction. Because of this they really do need the stronger predators. In general, fewer and larger sizes of any predator tends to lead to overabundance of prey fish and less abundance of harvestable sized prey fish. I like the idea of walleye for a predator but think that it will be doomed to fail on the panfish side or be very costly to maintain if it is combined with a reproducing population of BG.

A weaker predator is best paired with weaker prey and combinations of predators and prey that are on the weak side have turned out to be some very good fisheries based on my analysis of the anecdotes available here in the ponds that members of the forum own and enjoy. There are many examples and many clever management strategies. So in particular I think of Theo, Roundy, and others who have used RES as the backbone of their predator food chain. A combination of predator and prey, both of which have reduced reproductive potential appears, at least anecdotally, a manageable scenario that is relatively more stable and resistant to rapid and large variations in predator/prey balance.

IMHO, BG should always be avoided as a reproducing prey fish in any pond where a weaker predator is desired. I also think, for best success, one should not combine different species of predators in a pond or be careful in doing so where additional predators do not reproduce and are intended as a bonus fish and/or a predator that focuses on under-utilized prey. One of the more brilliant ways BG have been used in one of these fisheries is how Theo used them. He carefully stocked only adult males. Aside from the benefit of having some really good fast growing BG in the early going ... he continues to enjoy their legacy. Thanks to the promiscuity of his RES girls, there have been numerous hybrids whose hybrid vigor and Theo's selection has propelled them to prominence in his fishery.

I think the lesson to be learned from all this is to use BG as a bonus fish (comprised only as males) in ponds where alternatives to LMB are desired. If one is insistent on having a reproducing population of BG paired with an alternative predator. He should let an alternative lepomis like RES establish itself well before introducing BG in order skew numbers and balance in favor of the weaker lepomis.

This info definitely makes sense. I don't have a problem knowing that future stocking will need to be performed to keep up with any fish caught throughout the year. I kind of like the fact of controlling over population by using HBG and RES. I love catching RES and never heard of RES overpopulating a pond. I have to assume some of the male HBG and female RES will breed. What sort of offspring (size wise) can I expect?

Also the few frisky female HBG in every stocking will breed with the male RES. You are exploring new adventures in pond combinations; a learning curve few have traveled. Results will be new interesting information to pond bossers. Report your results and we can all learn about this together.

IMO the first few generations should produce good growth and nice panfish that should readily train to eat pellets and grow well. Some could become trophy class sunfish. Later Fx generations will continue to produce true "mutt" or genetically blended sunfish that could still be very usable and contribute to the fishery. I think the more Fx generations that are produced, the more prolific each year class will become. Expect the GSF sunfish traits to often or frequently be dominant in the offspring, if for no other reason that GSF are more prolific, aggressive than RES, and GSF traits often prevail in 'regular' HBG outbreeding. If you follow through with this plan please, please keep us updated. Some Pictures of each year class will be greatly appreciated as documented results of your fishery adventures.

If only stocking essentially non-breeding fish, doesn't give me the results I like. I assume I can easily revert back to a more typical stocking program by stocking LMB and BG. The LMB would over take the walleye as the predator and be used to manage the BG population. Any thoughts?

In 2021 I stocked #30 shiners, #30 fathead, 1000 RES, 2000 HBG, and 300 WE (5-6") in a new 3 acre lake in IL. I installed (1) fish feeder. Some spawning of HBG is occurring and populations appeared prolific in 2023. In fall of 2023, I stocked another 200 WE (7-9") to assist with managing breeding fish. There are NO LMB or catfish in the lake. It's now early 2024, and I'm catching +9" HBG, 7-8" RES, and a very occasional 12-16" WE. I am currently pulling out any fish I catch under 8.5", except WE. I've been told the WE will be difficult to catch with all the food in the lake. I realize the WE can't spawn in my area and I'm not opposed to stocking another 200 WE this fall. My goal is a lake with +20" WE and +10" BG/RES. Any thoughts/recommendations?

You could stock the 200 WE or stock less Saugeye (if they are available). I'm assuming the FHM are gone, but what about the Golden Shiners? What feed are you feeding, and how long does it take the HBG/RES to eat what you throw out?

Are the RES taking any of the feed?

I’m feeding Aquamax 500. Unsure if RES are eating it. I can’t find sauger to stock in this area other than if I catch a few in public waters.

Not Sauger, you would need the hybrid vigor of Saugeye. They are available and may or may not be the answer, but they do perform better with all sunfish types compared to Walleye.
esshup can fix you up with Saugeye.

If Snipe says I can fix you up with Saugeye, then I can.

Saugeye can be and have proven to be a very effective predator for some fisheries that can be helped by the specialized predatory ability provided by saugeye. . However the VERY big problem is acquiring them for stocking. To date and to get them there is only one private source with a limited production quantity for the entire country. Very limited supply.