Restocking Pond

[Mausermeister]

I built my pond about 25 years ago, right after we bought the farm. Stocked it initially with bass, hybrid bluegill, fathead minnows, catfish, and a few triploid grass carp. Over the last few years the fishing has declined, and some of the carp died and those that remain are not able to keep the vegetation in check like they used to.
Now that my daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter just moved back from fAlabama, I figure I should mow around it more often and see about restocking.
I just found out the fish truck is supposed to be in town today, so I'm going to get some channel cats, shell crackers, and a few more grass carp.

 

[Hduke86]

I'd definitely go on the lesser side with the cats as they will outcompete other fish for food. If you want a clean pond I highly suggest going to tractor supply and buying some pond dye. It keeps the sunlight from reaching the bottom and it does great for keeping vegetation down. It also helps smaller fish and minnows survive because the water is darker. I would look into hybrid bluegill for the simple reason they get BIG and a ton of fun to catch but they don't really reproduce because most are sterile and males and overload the pond.

 

[Hduke86]

You can go down the rabbit hole when looking into making a fishing pond good. You can never have enough fathead minnows in it.

 

[Popcorn]

A juvenile grass carp will eat many time the amount of food that an older larger carp does. It's the difference between growing and sustaining. I replace grass carp every 2 to 3 years.

 

[WTM]

whatever you do dont stock any green sunfish.

 

[Mausermeister]

Pond is a little less than 3 acres and spring fed. Dye would be very expensive. Already have hybrid bluegill. I added 200 catfish, 100 shell crackers, 6 more grass carp, and a few hundred fathead minnows.

 

[Mausermeister]

whatever you do dont stock any green sunfish.

You don't have to stock them. They will somehow find their way into a pond built on top of a tall hill.

 

[bowtechgump]

A pond that size I would put some hybrid bass (Wipers) and crappie. But that is just me.

 

[HenryCohunter]

If you don't harvest the crappie on the regular they will totally take over a pond that size and it will be full of 8 inch skinny fish.

 

[CATCHDAWG]

If you don't harvest the crappie on the regular they will totally take over a pond that size and it will be full of 8 inch skinny fish.

Agreed. I wouldn't stock crappie in a pond.

 

[clwg97]

If you don't harvest the crappie on the regular they will totally take over a pond that size and it will be full of 8 inch skinny fish.

I have this problem in my pond. Lots of 10-12" crappie and bass and others are hard to come by. I need to catch a few messes of crappie

 

[Mausermeister]

There was a small pond, less than 1/2 acre, there before I built it. The ground was swampy around it because of the springs coming out of the hillside. I dug down to hard clay below it and built the new levee around, and the water level is now a few feet above the level of the old pond.
The old pond had a few crappie in it. Whenever I would fish, I kept out every crappie I caught. Apparently, I actually managed to eliminate all the crappie, since it has ben over 10 years since one was caught there to my knowledge.

 

[WTM]

if i just had to have crappie in a 3 acre pond, id stock hybrids. no worries of overpopulation.

 

[Cattle Baron]

I have stocked wipers in my pond with good success. They grow fast, readily eat floating fish food, taste good, fun to catch and don't reproduce. If I had the ability I would try to find out what caused the decline in fishing and correct the issue before I restocked.

 

[nate17]

I would have tried to check the vegetation before investing more money. Hard to say for sure what is going on without more information and stocking may not have been the answer you were seeking. Ecologically, catfish can be considered a bonus species. If you feed them they aren't interfering much with the predator, prey relationship of the other species in your pond. Stocking crappie in a pond that size isn't a great decision unless you have a plan to control the population. Bass and blue gill are stocked together. Bluegill spawn several times a year and bass need them for a food source. If you already have bass, anything you stocked will probably be preyed upon if it's less than 10 inches, including the catfish. Any minnows stocked would likely be considered nothing more than a snack for the bass. It takes 10lbs of minnows to equal 1 pound of growth for a bass. Lots more to this than can be explained in a short message. Good luck getting to the bottom of it.

 

[bowtechgump]

if i just had to have crappie in a 3 acre pond, id stock hybrids. no worries of overpopulation.

That is why I mentioned to put the Hybrid Bass into the pond. They will eat the crappie and keep them in check. You could manage the larger crappie through natural harvest and their spawn would feed the hybrids. I would not harvest my Hybrids until they reached maturity and then purchase a replacement every year to restock them prior to taking a set amount out.

 

[redblood]

Agreed. I wouldn't stock crappie in a pond.

Agreed. As much as i love crappie, they will totally take over

 

[duvhntr]

whatever you do dont stock any green sunfish.

They stock themselves!

 

[duvhntr]

I've spent thousands and thousands of dollars on my pond and on fish.. only to have the stupid otters that some numbskull in TWRA decided to let loose in Tennessee.. wipe out every single fish I've stocked..

 

[CATCHDAWG]

I've spent thousands and thousands of dollars on my pond and on fish.. only to have the stupid otters that some numbskull in TWRA decided to let loose in Tennessee.. wipe out every single fish I've stocked..

They have found my pond twice. Fortunately I was able to "handle the situation" before they did too much damage on both occasions. My pond is in my backyard and I am constantly monitoring it. However, the creek on my other property that used to be a top notch fishery, the otters have absolutely wreaked havoc on the fish population. Hopefully next year I will have time to do some extensive trapping.

 

[redblood]

I've spent thousands and thousands of dollars on my pond and on fish.. only to have the stupid otters that some numbskull in TWRA decided to let loose in Tennessee.. wipe out every single fish I've stocked..

My brother in law fight them daily in his private lake.

 

[rsimms]

I did a little stocking on my meager pond just today.

 

[waterman]

I have about a 1/2 acre pond. Built and stocked it over 40 years ago with channel cats bass and bluegill. About ten years in added a few grasscarp. It has been neglected for about 20 years now. Trees grown up around etc. last year I cleaned up the edges and fished it for the first time in close to 20 years.it had several small bluegill and about 14" bass . Still had a grass carp but no catfish. Fed daily all summer . Added 10 grasscarp as the decaying leaves were thick. Fished it today ,just looking for something to do. Caught this guy on an ultralite. Had no idea there were fish this big in there

 

[ewc]

Some really poor advice here.

M.S. Fisheries Biology; B.S. Wildlife and Fisheries Science

 

[WTM]

 

[TNGunsmoke]

Some really poor advice here.

M.S. Fisheries Biology; B.S. Wildlife and Fisheries Science

So, what is the correct advice?

 

[ewc]

Recipes.

Bass, bluegill, catfish

Catfish won't spawn unless you build cavities. Add them per the recipe for size of pond.

Bass and bluegill (or shellcracker) at a 1 pound to 10 pound ratio ; again using the recipe for size to calculate numbers.

You MUST harvest fish. I'll harvest using the same recipe.

I'll take one pound of bass and 10 pounds of sunfish. Put 100 catfish in and take 20 per year.

 

[ewc]

Ponds will get out of balance quickly. Keep good notes/records. And harvest fish.

If you have a 7 acre pond, take 7 pounds of bass, 70 pounds of sunfish, and 20 catfish per year; every year.

Absolutely no crappie.

One triploid grass carp per acre is not a bad idea.

 

[bowtechgump]

https://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/prodigious-panfish-ponds/155416
The In-Fisherman magazine has a good article on pond stocking. The Lindner family has done many TV shows throughout time on stocking them, along with Hank Parker, Jimmy Houston and others who have them in their own.

 

[Creek bottoms]

The otters will appreciate you. Between otters and the creek chickens, our creeks don't have many fish anymore. They used to be full of smallmouth, green perch and hog suckers.