Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Raising Forage and Bait Forage pond stocking Recommendations central Ky

What would be best bang for the buck in my forage pond ?
Bluegill. Golden shiners. A mixture? Something else

Minnow pond dimensions
45 ft x24 ft
Average depth 3.5 ft
Deepest 5 ft
Approx 28,350 gallons
 
1.05 acres central Ky Goals are 6 pound bass 1.5 bluegill
Vertex Pond-Lyfe3 Aerator Stone
Texas Hunter feeder optimal feed up to 5 times a day 3 seconds depending on water temperature and feeding. 2 times a day in winter at least 1 second
109 fish structures , 11 rock piles, 3 artificial beaver dams. 2 spawning beds
Forage Minnow pond dimensions
45 ft x24 ft
Average depth 3.5 ft

1 acre pond central Ky. Goals to have a few 6 lb bass. 1.5 bluegill
Deepest 5 ft Approx 28,350 gallons
 2020
60 lbs fathead total   30 fathead 30 rosy reds. 1 pnd = (275 fish) 16,500 total fatheads
60 lbs shiners (120 shiners per pound) around 7200 total shiners
120 lbs minnows total 23,700 total minnows
700 papershell crayfish  Smith Creek
750 bluegill
375 redear
2021
70 feedtrained bass 40 f1 tiger  30 northern Gorilla  American Sportsfish 4” length
25 hybrid striped bass 2”-3” Jones Fish
10 lbs hand-painteds bluegill 1-8 in of both species from Trophy pond
1.5 lbs. feed-trained redear 1-8 “ inches trophy pond

Have the Bluegill spawned in the pond yet? I would recommend a 50/50 mix of Optimal Bluegill Jr. if the majority of Bluegills are still <6" and Optimal Bass food. If the BG have spawned already I'd feed a 50/50 mix of Optimal BG and Optimal Bass food. I'd also get a bag of Optimal Bluegill Jr. and hand feed (every day, same time, same place) in shallow water near cover where you can target your smaller BG population AND they will feel safe eating away from the predators.

You can use the Optimal BG Jr. to hand feed the fish in the forage pond.

How will you catch the fish in the forage pond to transfer to the main pond?

The feed is the key to getting the BG in the main pond large. For growing the bass, IF they stay on feed, once they get to 3# or so start feeding them the Optimal Hand throw feed. For the fish in the forage pond, you want to grow fish that will be approximately 1/4 to 1/3 the length of the LMB that you want to target with the fish. Golden Shiners can grow up to 10"-11" in length, and bass will eat them even if they are that big. Fatheads will only feed bass up to about 7"-9". BG will feed LMB of all sizes, depending on the size of the BG and the LMB.

You can grow a 6# LMB in your pond on Optimal food and BG, but it's always better to have a more diverse forage base. The Golden Shiners will also help the HSB grow in the pond. No need to harvest many of them until they get to a size that you want to eat, they won't reproduce in your pond.

I would just start growing Golden Shiners in there for now, because they can be used to feed all sizes of Bass and HSB. Remember, once the LMB spawn in the pond, you will want to remove around 20# per year to ensure that there is enough food in there for the remaining LMB to grow. You want to leave the original stockers in there, just take out the LMB that have hatched in the pond. I'd also stock a few of the hand painted BG in there just because they look so cool. If you start to have problems with white grub, yellow grub or black spot disease, then stock 5# of fingerling RES in there.

Keep monitoring the BG and forage fish population in the main pond. If you see a certain size/species of forage fish start to go down in population numbers, start growing them in the forage pond to transfer.

I would keep a pair of scissors or kitchen shears in your pocket when you fish the pond this year. If you can tell the difference between the F1's that you stocked and the Gorilla LMB that you stocked, you can fin clip the left pelvic fin for one species, and the right pelvic fin for the other (on the stocked fish). That way you can tell the stockers from the fish that spawned in the pond. Re-clip the fin if you catch one where it's growing back. That will ensure that you can tell if the LMB that you catch is a stocker or one that was hatched in the pond when it comes time to start harvesting LMB. If you can't tell the difference, I'd still fin clip as many of the ones that you stocked as possible.

Since you want to grow big bass AND big bluegills, I'd suggest raising bluegills in your hatchery pond to start. You can kill two birds with one stone...grow lots of bluegills to feed bass and hand select your best-of-the-best bluegills to retain in your hatchery pond, feed intensively, have them grow quickly, and stock them into the fishing lake once they reach 6-8" That helps you keep from totally depending on recruitment of bluegills in the fishing lake to produce more generations of trophy bluegill beyond the first generation or two. Basically, you can selectively breed your bluegills in the hatchery pond and provide lots of forage fish at the same time. Plus, bluegills will be your biggest limiting factor, long term, with your spoken goals.

Hello BoB
Curious on what size and how many bluegills I should in my forage pond?
45 ft x24 ft
Average depth 3.5 ft
Deepest 5 ft
Approx 28,350 gallons
Also size & how many I should leave in during the winter? Thanks Again!!

Each hatchery pond is a little different. I recommend stocking 12 adult bluegills and make sure your water is fertile. They'll reproduce. Feed them, make sure the water stays healthy and your bloom doesn't become too dense. (maintain 18" visibility). Then, harvest fish each fall and leave the adults and a few of the "best" young fish behind to grow larger. After a couple years, you'll see what the pond is capable of doing.

Agree and note to be sure with that few of adult BG to start- that they are roughly half males and half females.