Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Corrective stocking Adding Redear Sunfish to existing

I have a 12 acre pond with LMB, Crappie, BG. Bass are stunted, and I am working on that. We are also stocking channel cats and starting a feeding program. Since I have them coming to add the Cats, I thought now may be a time to add some Redear Sunfish. We haven't done an electro survey, so not sure if there are any in the pond. Would adding 1-3" Redear just be a waste of money?

Hi Anthony. 12 acres is on the verge of being a lake! Good stuff! I'm sure some of our pros will chime in, but the first question is 'what are your goals for your pond'? Bigger LMB? More BCP (crappie)? Better catch rates of BG? Something else? Also, what role do you see for the catfish? You might do a little research in the Forum about catfish as an apex predator. They can be devastating.
RES (red ear sunfish) can be a great addition to a pond or lake. They feed on snails and can help control some common parasitic infections that lead to 'spots' in your fillets. They can also be a nice bonus fish to catch, and can get pretty big, by sunfish standards. Personally, I have found them challenging to catch in our pond.
You are right to worry about the size of newly stocked fish. You may already have read or know, but LMB can eat a fish ~ 1/3 their body length, so your 12-14" skinny bass will be all over those new stockers in the 1-3" range. I know it's more expensive, but bigger stockers may have a better chance of establishing.

Stay tuned for some better advice from our pond pros.

DrLuke is right on.

To ensure some retention of newly stocked fish, your two options are to either stock larger fish, or stock higher numbers of smaller fish.

Enhancing cover for smaller fish can be helpful for recruitment also.

BTW, in general, we say over 10 acres is a lake, and less than 10 acres is a pond. All good though!!!

Habituate all new small fish added to a lake with existing predators (adult or near adult predators).


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Appreciate all the responses. I am going to check and see if bigger sizes are available. Yes, I typically call it a Lake, but have had others call it a Pond when I bring it up to them. Didn't want to seem pretentious.

But since you own it, you can call it ANYTHING you want!

I heard once upon a time " If your selling it's a lake, Buying it's a pond." But I'm new to all this.