Stocking pond, need advice please

[beauhunter41031]

We’ve got about a 3 acre pond on the property that turned over two years ago and killed everything but the catfish. We’ve always Wanted to restock at some point but just have been busy and not really a priority. I had planned on getting in contact with fish and game to see if they could help recommend a stocking list However I totally forgot and found out yesterday that the fish truck is coming this morning at 8 AM. I would assume somebody there could guide me in the right direction but I also figured I could ask folks on here for maybe just a rough no idea of different fish I can pick up and a proper ratio. It’s a long rectangular pond roughly 300 yards long by 80 a cross. 50 yards closest to the dam is probably 10 feet deep. Majority of the middle is around 5 feet deep then it slowly gets pretty shallow towards the point. Would like to have some Bass And other panfish

 

[bigbonner]

Stocking recreational fish ponds​

Stocking recreational fish ponds

Fishing is a wonderful warm-weather pastime many of us enjoy. At the extension office, we often receive calls in the spring and fall from landowners on how to properly stock

www.somerset-kentucky.com

 

[bigbonner]

This one is KY Fish and Wildlife.

Farm Pond Management-Stocking and Harvesting

fw.ky.gov

 

[grinder]

Tell all of this to the fish truck guy. He can reccomend rates. KDFW says channel cats, regular bluegill, and largemouth bass. Dont do crappie or hybrid bluegills. Crappie overproduce worse than bluegill, and hybrid bluegill its said can revert back to green sunfish, which are a very poor choice.
Biggest thing to managing farm ponds is, take 7 pounds of bluegill out for every one pound of bass removed.
Just think how many bluegill you have to keep to get 7 pounds, vs that 1 one pound bass!
To me it pretty much means ‘ never keep a bass.

 

[carnivore]

We’ve got about a 3 acre pond on the property that turned over two years ago and killed everything but the catfish. We’ve always Wanted to restock at some point but just have been busy and not really a priority. I had planned on getting in contact with fish and game to see if they could help recommend a stocking list However I totally forgot and found out yesterday that the fish truck is coming this morning at 8 AM. I would assume somebody there could guide me in the right direction but I also figured I could ask folks on here for maybe just a rough no idea of different fish I can pick up and a proper ratio. It’s a long rectangular pond roughly 300 yards long by 80 a cross. 50 yards closest to the dam is probably 10 feet deep. Majority of the middle is around 5 feet deep then it slowly gets pretty shallow towards the point. Would like to have some Bass And other panfish

Bluegill, bass, catfish, maybe some sterile carp. Is a safe bet

 

[beauhunter41031]

Thanks for the replies. The catfish were the only things I didn’t see floating dead and I knew there were a decent population of 3 to 6 pound cats. I wonder if they will eat all of these new little fish I put in?

 

[Drahts]

Channel cats are pretty voracious feeders. If they are flats you may be ok. I would be putting some thread fin shad and some bullhead minnows for forage, and some bluegill first then next spring put your bass in. Give your bait some time to reproduce before you put the heavy feeding bass or more cats in.

 

[carnivore]

We’ve got about a 3 acre pond on the property that turned over two years ago and killed everything but the catfish. We’ve always Wanted to restock at some point but just have been busy and not really a priority. I had planned on getting in contact with fish and game to see if they could help recommend a stocking list However I totally forgot and found out yesterday that the fish truck is coming this morning at 8 AM. I would assume somebody there could guide me in the right direction but I also figured I could ask folks on here for maybe just a rough no idea of different fish I can pick up and a proper ratio. It’s a long rectangular pond roughly 300 yards long by 80 a cross. 50 yards closest to the dam is probably 10 feet deep. Majority of the middle is around 5 feet deep then it slowly gets pretty shallow towards the point. Would like to have some Bass And other panfish

Bluegill (or shell crackers), bass, catfish, (maybe some sterile carp) is a safe bet everything else is complicated.

 

[bigbonner]

Thanks for the replies. The catfish were the only things I didn’t see floating dead and I knew there were a decent population of 3 to 6 pound cats. I wonder if they will eat all of these new little fish I put in?

You could be buying expensive fish food. They will eat their own if they don't have another food source.
Maybe catch some minnows add to the lake or buy bigger fish for stocking. One other thing you might consider is cutting and putting some cedar trees out in the lake so the new stockings have a place to hide.

Another option is that maybe you could get Fish and Wildlife to come out and shock your lake to see how many Cats there are.
If too many you can keep the fish , invite all of the members here over for a BIG fish fry.

 

[carnivore]

Thanks for the replies. The catfish were the only things I didn’t see floating dead and I knew there were a decent population of 3 to 6 pound cats. I wonder if they will eat all of these new little fish I put in?

I would definitely throw in 2 dozen cedars (1 big cedar every 30-50 feet on your bank) if you dont already have a bunch of structure or small fish you add will all get eaten. I feed my fish small dog food an hour before dark and have a real good idea of my population. Once they get use to it you’ll have a pretty good idea whats in your pond.

 

[Little FR]

Bluegill will show up on their own. I would pay money for bass and crappie. If the crappie overpopulate just whisper quietly that you have crappie and people will be wearing ghillie suits fishing it out.

 

[carnivore]

Bluegill will show up on their own. I would pay money for bass and crappie. If the crappie overpopulate just whisper quietly that you have crappie and people will be wearing ghillie suits fishing it out.

Believe it or not my neighbor has cats and bass and zero bluegill his only structure is cattails but they are thick.

 

[1wildcatfan]

We’ve got about a 3 acre pond on the property that turned over two years ago and killed everything but the catfish. We’ve always Wanted to restock at some point but just have been busy and not really a priority. I had planned on getting in contact with fish and game to see if they could help recommend a stocking list However I totally forgot and found out yesterday that the fish truck is coming this morning at 8 AM. I would assume somebody there could guide me in the right direction but I also figured I could ask folks on here for maybe just a rough no idea of different fish I can pick up and a proper ratio. It’s a long rectangular pond roughly 300 yards long by 80 a cross. 50 yards closest to the dam is probably 10 feet deep. Majority of the middle is around 5 feet deep then it slowly gets pretty shallow towards the point. Would like to have some Bass And other panfish

Google "Jones Fish". They sell fish, $$$, but you can see what they recommend for stocking.

Professional Lake Management

Jones Fish is an industry leader in fish stocking and aquatic weed and algae control. Over the last thirty-three years we have grown from a small, two man operation in southwestern Ohio to a lake management pioneer with seven locations, a footprint that encompasses all of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky...

jonesfish.com

 

[Redlined]

As long as you have enough predatory fish to keep them in check, crappie will be fine. We have introduced them to several ponds where they did very well but in every instance there was already an established bass and channel cat population.
Also I've found that the fertility of the pond has
more to do with how good or poorly the fish will do. Ponds with bare banks and clay bottoms rarely do as well as ponds with established vegetation around it and sandy or silty bottoms.

 

[beauhunter41031]

I got 500 regular bluegill, 100 redear, 100 catfish and 6lbs of minnows. Money was adding up pretty fast so I decided against the bass plus The minnows were bigger than the bass he had on the truck