Fall stocking a new(?) pond

[bullhead]

I have a 1.5 acre pond in Seward county that is about ten years old. It has a history of drying and freezing out and right now there are no fish in it. Since I recently became a grandpa, I have visions of fishing here with my kids and am determined to make it work even if I have to drill a well to keep it full.
My question is, would now be a good time to get started and stock some bluegill and minnows and let them reproduce and grow before adding bass and cats in the spring?

[Shorty]

BG & fathead minnows won't spawn until spring, you could add them now and hope they grow a little over the winter or add them in the spring too. I would wait until next fall at the earliest before adding any perdators like LMB.

[Chad]

From Daryl...

So it has plenty of water in it now? Is it going to "freeze out" this winter? We recommend a minimum depth of 10 feet in part to avoid winterkill.

Yes, you can stock in the fall. The stocking strategy that has proven most successful for Nebraska ponds is what we call a split-stocking strategy. That strategy calls for stocking bluegill fingerlings the first year, now for example, and then largemouth bass fingerlings would be stocked the next year. We stock bluegill fingerlings at a 500/acre rate and largemouth bass fingerlings at a 100/acre rate. We do not recommend stocking any minnows--the minnows may compete with the small bluegills and the minnows will not last once the largemouth bass are introduced. The bluegills will be the primary prey for the largemouth bass so the best thing to do is get the bluegills off to a good start and that is why we recommend stocking them alone, without the minnows. If you are worried about something for the bluegills to eat, there will be plenty of aquatic insects and zooplankton for them to eat in the pond already.

If you are going to stock either bluegills or largemouth bass in the fall, I would not wait until too late in the fall. Those fish are warm-water species and it would be best to get them in while the water is still warm and they have a chance to put on some feed before it gets cold. Late October or November would probably be getting a little late.

We have a private waters program that you might want to check out, http://www.ngpc.state.ne.us/fishing/.../FGprivate.asp , and you should definitely get a copy of our pond management book, http://www.ngpc.state.ne.us/fishing/...management.asp .

Daryl Bauer
Lakes and Reservoirs Program Manager
Nebraska Game & Parks Commission
daryl.bauer@nebraska.gov

P.S. Feel free to share this message with others.

[bullhead]

With the wet summer it's full. I see a nice full pond and think what a waste it is to not have any fish in it, which is why I'm all psyched about stocking it again. If we have another year like 2006, I might have to drill a well.
What is your theory about bluegill versus hybrid blue gill in this situation? A mixture?

[Shorty]

Bullhead, what are the goals of your pond? I would like to hear that answer before discussing the pros & cons of hybrid BG.

[bullhead]

My goals are to have a pond that you can go to with a kid and most likely something will be biting. I don't need three pound bluegills or five pound bass, though it wouldn't bother me. A variety wouldn't hurt either. Bluegills, bass, cats, maybe a few crappie.

[Shorty]

I would leave the crappie out as they tend ot cause problems in small bodies of water. I would also go light on the number of channel catfish that you stock too.

One of the interesting things with hybrid BG (HBG) is that most of the offspring are male so reproductive wise they don't make for a very good forage base for LMB. They simply do not produce enough off spring for LMB to do well. They would however be ideal for taking a kid fishing as HBG are very agressive. One could stock hybrid BG in the spring and then in the following year overstock LMB fingerlings. This would grow big agressive HBG and lots of agressive small bass that would be very easy to catch. One thing with HBG is that after sucessive generations the hybrid vigor that is initially seen with them declines and they tend to start looking more like green sunfish. Eight to ten years down the road you may need to drain the pond and start over.

[fearnofish]

I have a pond that has somewhat of a bass problem. It is a 1 acre pond and the largest bass I have caught there is 13 inches. Is it smart to take some of the bass out??

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by fearnofish

I have a pond that has somewhat of a bass problem. It is a 1 acre pond and the largest bass I have caught there is 13 inches. Is it smart to take some of the bass out??

Most likely yes! Do you have bluegill present or is this a largemouth only pond?

[fearnofish]

No there are gills present,and a lot of little bass.There are also some pretty good size gills in there.

[holdemplyer]

I was reading an article on building a pond in "Pond Boss" while at Aquaman's place, it was good reading once you got past the ugly mug on the cover . In reading that, I'd first find out where the water goes when it empties, is it evaporation, seepage, drainage? What kind of soil is it? Some dirt work may be in order that might be cheaper than drilling a well.



hehe, great time to use that smiley!!!!

Alex