I recently bought a property in SouthWest WI which had an old pond on it. We recently rebuilt the dam and now have a new 1 acre pond. It has a fresh supply of spring water. The pond currently has a clay liner and no structure. I want to stock this pond with fish, but have no idea where to start. I am looking for advice on what to add for structure and where to get fish for stocking. Any advice is appreciated. I have attached a picture for reference.
Figure out your fishery goals for the pond first before stocking any predators. This Fall I'd stock a bunch of Fathead Minnows (10+ pounds) and research here/ask questions about what you want to do with the pond and stock the rest of the fish in the Spring.
Depending on what you want to fish for, or like to eat, determines what other fish to stock and how many of each.
How deep is it, will you be feeding a commercial fish food and will you aerate the pond?
As for cover, I'd make plans on contacting your local big box store right before Christmas and arrange to pick up ALL of their unsold Christmas Trees the day after Christmas. You can make cheap brush piles with them, put a big pile in the deepest part of the pond for cover for the fish during the winter, etc.
An overhead view of the pond with the pond depths marked off will help determine what cover to put in the pond, and the type of fish you will stock also partially determines what type of cover will work the best.
