Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Another stocking advice thread! Smb yp etc

New pond in NW MO smooth rock bottom, rock banks, 24inch and minus rip rap on the non rock areas, .55acres surface area. 12 feet in the deepest. Lots of structure in the natural rock shelfs plus 48"concrete culvert pipes 6' long x8. It hasn't rained since it was built. One snow melt and natural springs filling it up. Tree lined south bank provides some shade. 400 ish feet long and narrow.

I want to to something a little more rare around nw MO but after doing a lot of reading on here I think it is do-able.
I want smallmouth, yellow perch, some type of bluegill, probably red ear would be best bet I've read. I really like the idea of hybrid stripers if at all possible.

My plan is to put in 5 or 6 thousand fatheads in couple months and let them do their thing until fall. From there, I'm open to suggestions on what species and how many to stock this fall or next spring. Any and all help appreciated. I'll try and link to Google drive with photos of the pond

I've also got a 2nd little pond that I was debating on just using as a grow out pond for food to toss in the main pond. What food species should I grow there? Fatheads? Golden shiners? Goldfish?

https://photos.app.goo.gl/wVMjUFchWkB8uspY7

Good looking pond
Your FHM like to lay their eggs on the under side of things
I’m interested in reading the answers everyone else has to say.
I bet you get many different opinions.
Even though I am enjoying trying to grow big LMB. If I had to do it all over again,
I would have left the LMB out and just went SMB and HSB
Neither one of these is going to do very well with BG, you will want shiners and supplemental feeding

Right. I really want to stay away from the lmb cc bg combo that is so common. We love cat fishing but the MO river is couple miles away and we get into 50+lb flats and blues. This pond was built out of necessity, I needed the "dam" as an entrance to the property. I figured may as well give it some curb appeal.

I like the northern fish you have in mind. The problem is SMB as the main predator will not control BG. There is an option for this, and a pond of this size is perfect for what I will recommend based on what we are seeing in KS impoundments where we have done this exact stocking protocol.
I would get the FHM going good, starting with 100lbs total if stocked in the next couple of weeks or the next 30 days would be good if you have 3'+ of water to work with.
I'd follow up with 3-5" BG at 50-70 per acre, YP in the fall along with SMB.
The other part I would look at real hard is stocking Saugeye fry at a rate such that they would be starting on BG off-spring from the onset of BG hatch. This would complete the "Walleye-type" fish that is best suited to control excess BG as they hatch, leaving a portion to provide good BG growth without overpopulating.
The Saugeye would be near the size of the stocker YP and SMB in the fall, but would already be working on the BG hatch.
In a new pond, you can get by with a fairly light stocking of fry and get decent recruitment.
Second year, mid summer I would consider some decent numbers of golden shiner brooders.
In the 3rd year, I would recommend another early spring stocking of Saugeye fry to continue the work on the BG from the bottom up, then consider some northern virile Crawdads for the final addition of another forage option.
This is a perfect set up for beginning a true "Northern" type fishery. You can still add a few bonus HSB and maybe some low numbers of CC.

Good info, and very interesting thoughts on the saugeye I hadn't considered.
I'm betting now my issues are going to be able to find these species for purchase around Kansas city. So far I've got nowhere with the couple local fisheries. They just want to put in lmb cc bg

I have SMB, YP and the only grower of SAE in the U.S., but you can purchase YP and SMB from other locations, I just wanted to add where the Saugeye fit well in this puzzle. This fish has turned a lot of "OK" fisheries into fantastic fisheries.
It's an option other than LMB, BG, CC.. others here can verify my thoughts on the Northern strategy, but SMB will do well anywhere LMB would grow well. Deep, cool water only for SMB is a myth, YP need a tad better conditions for good growth but as long as they have some summer haunts with a drop in temp with a decent minnow forage base-or feed trained, they do very well at our latitude.
The Saugeye are a dweller of about any water conditions that have a mean appetite for sunfish type/shape species that allows the use of BG without needing LMB to control abundant numbers. Check into Saugeye in KS and NE waters, other states are following suit where Walleye don't have enough depth, cooler water or the more common reservoir type forage such as shad. WAE don't do well in the smaller impoundments, at least not AS well.
Glad to discuss whether it's a good fit or not.

kenny@aquaticspecialties.info

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