Quote:
Originally Posted by MA Machine
Your bluegill population will supply the food, no need to add minnows. Your chances of getting rough fish are very high when adding minnows. If the pond does not have a dam you might want to consider crayfish. If it has a dam I would shy away from them since they can compromise the integrity of your dam with their burrows.
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DITTO WHAT "MA Machine" said! For ponds that have no fish in them yet, we use a split stocking strategy--fingerling bluegill one year followed by fingerling largemouth bass the next year. We do NOT recommend stocking minnows for the reasons "MA Machine" cited, plus we do not want any fish competing with the bluegills when they are first introduced. The bluegills will provide plenty of prey for the largemouth bass once they become established. After the largemouth bass become established they will eat minnows as fast as you can put them in there--if you like supplementally feeding expensive minnows to the bass.
Things like crayfish and frogs will tend to show up on their own over time whether you want them or not.
Daryl Bauer
Lakes and Reservoirs Program Manager
Nebraska Game & Parks Commission
daryl.bauer@nebraska.gov