stocking a pond

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diymirage

diymirage

HP@idle > hondaHP@redline
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think i mentioned this before, but i got a little pond in the back yard
according to google (how cool is it you can measure stuff with their satellite view?)

anyway, it comes down to 9000 square feet, about 0.20 acres
best i can tell there is one real good catfish in there, one koi, some perch and a way way way too many bluegill
i mean, tiny little bluegill, that dont grow because they crowd themselves out

so, i just put in an order for 25 largemouth bass, 25 channel cats and 2 pounds of minnows

im pretty excited to get these (will be around the middle of may)

you guys have any experience with this?
 
We had a real bad drought and I lost all of our bass, I will start over soon. The turtles buried themselves in the mud and survived(smart little guys).

Good luck to yah its fun to do.
 
thanks

i've seen a few turtles here, but not a whole lot
there are crawdads in there, them guys are cool

but to the best of my knowledge, there has never been bass in there before, and that is probably why there are too many babybluegill in there
 
diymirage said:
think i mentioned this before, but i got a little pond in the back yard
according to google (how cool is it you can measure stuff with their satellite view?)

anyway, it comes down to 9000 square feet, about 0.20 acres
best i can tell there is one real good catfish in there, one koi, some perch and a way way way too many bluegill
i mean, tiny little bluegill, that dont grow because they crowd themselves out

so, i just put in an order for 25 largemouth bass, 25 channel cats and 2 pounds of minnows

im pretty excited to get these (will be around the middle of may)

you guys have any experience with this?
Click to expand...
Might be a little heavy on the bass? They are very prolific and will quickly overpopulate. I've never had cats in my pond.
 
I don't know, that's the number the hatchery quoted me
The catfish are cool
This is the only one in there now (that I know of)
(Look in the net)
I was in the paddle boat when I caught it and it drug me all over that pond

IMG951178.jpg
 
diymirage said:
I don't know, that's the number the hatchery quoted me
The catfish are cool
This is the only one in there now (that I know of)
(Look in the net)
I was in the paddle boat when I caught it and it drug me all over that pond
Click to expand...

Bass are highly territorial.
The best way to catch a Bass when they won't bite for food is to piss em off by intruding into their territory with some big noisy lure like a rattletrap or a torpedo.:D

Those baby Bluegill are toast.:D
 
Thanks TB
I've always had good luck fishing for bass with a flyreel, but I have heard that ticking them off might work too

I wonder how long it will take them to grow to catching size ?
(Strictly catch and release)
 
I got crawdads in my yard. Would be nice to have bass in there but I think they'd rot.
 
Just FYI, here in NC the local At agent will help you with pond mgmt issues. In fact they provide one-time stocking FREE!

Might be worth giving them a call.
 
diymirage said:
think i mentioned this before, but i got a little pond in the back yard
according to google (how cool is it you can measure stuff with their satellite view?)

anyway, it comes down to 9000 square feet, about 0.20 acres
best i can tell there is one real good catfish in there, one koi, some perch and a way way way too many bluegill
i mean, tiny little bluegill, that dont grow because they crowd themselves out

so, i just put in an order for 25 largemouth bass, 25 channel cats and 2 pounds of minnows

im pretty excited to get these (will be around the middle of may)

you guys have any experience with this?
Click to expand...
I have stocked a few ponds over the years and the numbers of fish they gave you are about right (maybe a little heavy on the channel cars by about 5-7).

The bass should grow to 10-12” long in the first year and add another 2-3” in the second year in your climate. The third year, they should become beefier but won’t add more than another 1-2” of length in your climate. They will likely top out at around 16” and 3.5 lbs.
 
DIY I love that pic of you with the fish in the net and your son! What’s great pic of a boy having fun with his dad!!
 
JeffisOld said:
Just FYI, here in NC the local At agent will help you with pond mgmt issues. In fact they provide one-time stocking FREE!

Might be worth giving them a call.
Click to expand...
Not sure who you are talking about...is it like the DNR?


Ddaddy said:
I have stocked a few ponds over the years and the numbers of fish they gave you are about right (maybe a little heavy on the channel cars by about 5-7).

The bass should grow to 10-12” long in the first year and add another 2-3” in the second year in your climate. The third year, they should become beefier but won’t add more than another 1-2” of length in your climate. They will likely top out at around 16” and 3.5 lbs.
Click to expand...

Thanks, this is real good info, so I know what to expect
The funny thing is, they DID suggest a few less cat fish, but 25 was their lowest order quantity, if I wanted less I would have to pick them out piecemeal when the truck gets here (the company is from Arkansas, and they are selling at a local feed store) so I figured I would order a few more and be sure I got it


mopardude62 said:
DIY I love that pic of you with the fish in the net and your son! What’s great pic of a boy having fun with his dad!!
Click to expand...

One of the reasons I want to stock up the pond is so he can actually enjoy himself catching some fish, and not just feeding them the worms of his hook

We love being out here, I'm so glad he isn't glued to a screen 24/7
 
diymirage said:
Thanks, this is real good info, so I know what to expect
The funny thing is, they DID suggest a few less cat fish, but 25 was their lowest order quantity, if I wanted less I would have to pick them out piecemeal when the truck gets here (the company is from Arkansas, and they are selling at a local feed store) so I figured I would order a few more and be sure I got it
Click to expand...

You will be ok with with the extra cats, they just won’t get very big. You can supplement the feeding with some catfish pellets and cull a few out as they grow over the next 2 years to balance the population. You will be able to tell how they are doing as you catch and release them and if they look like they are staying small, have a few for dinner so the rest grow bigger.
 
Kool pic of your little guy havin fun! I have a 1/2 acre pond here in SE Michigan, been working on managing it for about 10 years now. The bass will clear up the small blue gill situation, but medium and larger blue gill will eat the bass eggs, so ya kinda have to watch them a little bit too. The channel cats can get real aggressive as the get larger and can cause problems for you bass. If you haven't received the cats yet think about sterile ones cause if you make a mistake you don't have to try to shock them and fish them out to control the population. How deep is the pond?
 
diymirage said:
Thanks TB
I've always had good luck fishing for bass with a flyreel, but I have heard that ticking them off might work too

I wonder how long it will take them to grow to catching size ?
(Strictly catch and release)
Click to expand...

Don't really know that one, but I can tell you that once the Bluegill are gone you should have some nice topwater Bass fishing going on there.:D
 
69conv said:
Kool pic of your little guy havin fun! I have a 1/2 acre pond here in SE Michigan, been working on managing it for about 10 years now. The bass will clear up the small blue gill situation, but medium and larger blue gill will eat the bass eggs, so ya kinda have to watch them a little bit too. The channel cats can get real aggressive as the get larger and can cause problems for you bass. If you haven't received the cats yet think about sterile ones cause if you make a mistake you don't have to try to shock them and fish them out to control the population. How deep is the pond?
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advise
At its deepest, I measured it to be 7 feet
(And by "measured" I mean I tied a rock to a rope and dropped it in...i believe the nautical term is "phathom")
 
So it doesn't sound like your pond is deep enough to worry about a stratified layer, that usually happens at around 8-10". We use aqua shade to help control the algae and a dose of copper sulfate crystals as needed. We found that some cattails provides cover for fry to develop without getting chomped too badly, and we used riverrock to stabilize the shoreline and prevent erosion from filling the pond back is so quickly, and help keep the cattails from taking over the shoreline. Its all a balancing act. So far we haven't had a winter kill, knock on wood. Ours is 18' deep so we don't have to worry about a really cold winter freezing too much of the pond for the fish to survive. When we first moved in the pond was overpopulated with bass, we pulled out 47 in a 3 day weekend, most 8-12".
 
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69conv said:
So it doesn't sound like your pond is deep enough to worry about a stratified layer, that usually happens at around 8-10". We use aqua shade to help control the algae and a dose of copper sulfate crystals as needed. We found that some cattails provides cover for fry to develop without getting chomped too badly, and we used riverrock to stabilize the shoreline and prevent erosion from filling the pond back is so quickly, and help keep the cattails from taking over the shoreline. Its all a balancing act. So far we haven't had a winter kill, knock on wood. Ours is 18" deep so we don't have to worry about a really cold winter freezing too much of the pond for the fish to survive. When we first moved in the pond was overpopulated with bass, we pulled out 47 in a 3 day weekend, most 8-12".
Click to expand...
Surely u meant 18' , instead,of 18" !
 
We have plenty of land for it and even a natural spring on the property, but no finances to throw that way. Oh well. lol
 
Bluegill typically only live about 3 years. I would get the pond stocked with bluegill also but pull 50 or so out each year for a pond that size.

I am by no means a professional but I have helped manage a few ponds with good results. Both bass weighed in at over 4 pounds with the one I am holding being 4.85 (I’m the one in the black t shirt). The channel cats didn’t grow to be the 10 lbs giants we wanted but there are a couple around 8 lbs.

ABC7154E-1AA2-41E0-B3C3-DC6E10FC34DD.jpeg


25F2C9DC-B354-487C-8A82-7E517540BBE7.jpeg


4048FC53-CC75-4007-9685-30FC123CC269.jpeg
 
doogievlg said:
Bluegill typically only live about 3 years. I would get the pond stocked with bluegill also but pull 50 or so out each year for a pond that size.

I am by no means a professional but I have helped manage a few ponds with good results. Both bass weighed in at over 4 pounds with the one I am holding being 4.85 (I’m the one in the black t shirt). The channel cats didn’t grow to be the 10 lbs giants we wanted but there are a couple around 8 lbs.

View attachment 1715169742

View attachment 1715169743

View attachment 1715169744
Click to expand...

Yes I am holding the fish out...it’s a bad habit but here it is next to my size 11
Boot for reference.

2860FEE4-16EE-4A02-813F-F41327B2A6D7.jpeg
 
I wouldn't put minnows in there. The bass will feed off the bluegill and help control that population. You need to harvest some to keep from over populating and stunted their growth. Ratio should be about 10 bluegill to 1 bass. Catfish can provide some very good eating and are fun to watch feed off 32% floating catfish fee in the summer time.
 
69conv said:
OursView attachment 1715169701
Click to expand...
Dang, that looks like a water hazard at a country club... Nice!

You all have friggin lakes in your backyard...in Cali, that would need a full fence with a locking gate, a life preserver and crook, a landline phone and maybe even a handicap dunking chair on a crane. Hell, throw in a lifeguard while your at it.
 
Thanks guys
Those are some great looking fish, what do you use for them, spinners?

@RustyRatRod we bought this house about a year and a half ago and it had a few things I would never go out and spend the money on to put in (the pond included) but it checked all the boxes of what we did want, and it was within our budget so the pond is a nice bonus

@pishta There are a half a dozen life jackets in the shed, rules are no one who isn't an adult gets on the paddleboats without one

I won't tell you how I feel about those regulations where you live, but I will tell you this, we live on lake Michigan and every summer a few kids drown in there
The two that stick out most are a toddler they performed CPR on for almost half an hour, to no avail, and a senior in our local highschool, who was on the swim team
Taking some precautions to prevent drownings is not a bad idea
 
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