Common Questions When Initially Stocking A New Pond - Pond and Lake Management

hi guys i'm wes goldsmith with aquatic control i'm a fisheries biologist here it's springtime and we've had a lot of calls coming in about some initial pond stocking so we're going to cover some of the common questions surrounding that topic [Music] today [Music] so [Music] so what type of fish should i get put in initially so typically most people are going to do your bass bluegill ponds um another common one to add in there that i highly recommend is readier sunfish and then you're also when you first stock your pond you're going to want to put some kind of extra forage fish like a fat head minnow or a golden shiner so when i get those put in how many are we looking at getting put in initially and is there a certain size range i should should choose right so when you're first starting out you're going to be stocking mostly fingerling fish so in your one for your bluegill and red ear one to three inch two to three inch depending where you're getting them from and then i also like to bump up and do a small portion of them you know the next size up that they have three to four or three to five inch as far as densities one thing you're definitely going to want to do before you get too far into this is measure the pond that way you know a surface acre a lot of the stocking stuff we do is based on surface acres so a real uh basic and common um you know stocking plan that we'll do if you're just looking for a balanced pond you'll want to look at ten to one stocking ratio for your bass to bluegill per surface acre so if you're less than a surface acre you'll need to calculate that down but generally for a balanced pond we're going to look at a thousand bluegill per surface acre about a hundred largemouth bass per surface acre and we usually do around 300 red ear per surface acre and then with your forage you're going to want to do you know i do at least 10 pounds per surface acre you could go up to 30 pounds per surface acre and you can do all fat head minnows you can do all golden shiners or you can do a mix you know some hatcheries have one or the other or both usually looking at 10 to 30 30 pounds per surface acre there something else to mention the most recommended way i like to stock a pond is to do it in a two-year plan so you'll want to do your forage base first which will include your bluegill your red ear and then your fat heads or golden shiners in that first year and then in the second year you'll want to come in and stock your bass and the reason for that is to allow those forged fish to you know grow up a little bit you may get a especially if you do that next size up those three to five inch fish you may get a spawn off and then that'll also let your forage as far as your fat heads or golden shiners they may reproduce and really fill out your forage base and then when you go to put your predators those largemouth bass they're really going to have a lot of food and you know when you first stock a pond it's pretty impressive the growth that you can see in the first couple years for your bass and bluegill and red ear do i need to feed these the fish initially so actually you don't that's a common question that we get your fish will do just fine when you first stock them they're going to be eating you know small bugs some zooplankton that kind of stuff and they're going to grow pretty well without the food now with that said if you have the extra resources and you kind of want to speed up this process of getting your pond into a place where you can come fish and catch quality fish it definitely does help you know if you can start feeding right off the bat and that's another reason that i like to add you know a small portion of my bluegill and readier stocking that next size up because when you go with those three to fives some of those fish are going to be you know ready to hit that feed pretty quick when you first put them in there and they're going to be growing at a at a really nice rate and then you'll you know that's something you can keep throughout the life of your pond and you're going to you know really grow some really nice panfish that way and it also helps you know keep producing more food you know up the food chain for your predators like your largemouth bass what time of year is best to do this sort of thing time of year is another common question um you know it's spring right now a lot of people's new ponds have been filling up you know for the last six months or so spring and fall is the common answer but you know when you get your your bass the second year a lot of times they may not come in until june which is fine you know if you're working with a good hatchery they can take care of the fish with a little bit warmer temperatures but when you start getting into july and august we usually try to you know we're doing other stuff around the pond you typically want to stock when the water temperatures are cooler it's a lot easier on the fish so what type of habitat do i need if i need any yeah so that's another another big one to consider um when you have a new pond and i'll tell you this when you're waiting on your pond to fill up when you're waiting on all that rain to come and fill your pond up that's the best time to be thinking about your habitat which a lot of people you know they miss that step when your pond is just first dug and even while you are having it doug you should be thinking about where the habitat's gonna go leaving some shallow areas for you know spawning and then making sure you have you know deeper areas of your pond as well but as that water is filling up and there's still area on your bank where it's dry where you can get in there and work that's when you should be bringing in you can do artificial you can bring in you know tie up your own brush piles christmas trees you know all that's good stuff but it's a lot easier to get in there before the water gets up here now even with the water already you know being full it's not too late you can still you know wait out there in the shallow water use a boat we can you know we can help you out with that kind of stuff as well but you want to keep in mind you want spawning habitat and then you also want protective habitat for your forage and your smaller fish so having bluegill spawning habitat is is pretty key as for about every surface acre we like to do at least one maybe two you know 10 by 10 or 12 by 12 area of pea gravel and that's where you'll notice bluegill will start spawning there when the water temperature warms up they'll be there the other thing is is that protective habitat for your forage base so you want something complex a christmas tree is a good example of that and then if you're going to do artificial structure you just want to make sure there's enough real small little spaces for those fish to get into and then other stuff just to put out as fish attractors so when you're fishing on the pond you know those different areas where you can go to and put your grandkids on them and you know you can count on fish being around those areas thanks for joining us guys i hope we answered some of your questions um if you have any other questions feel free to give us a call and if you need help you know figuring out a stocking plant and getting the fish in your newly you know filled up pond just give us call and we can help you out [Music] you

Channel: Aquatic Control

Views: 21,278

Rating: 4.8650308 out of 5

Keywords: Pond Stocking, Farm Pond, Pond Management, Bluegill, Fishing, Bass, Lake Management, Aquatic Control, Fish Habitat, Fish Feed

Id: okOLNmryMX0

Length: 9min 2sec (542 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 13 2020