Recommendations on fish for pond

[rtimgray]

We dug out an old pond last summer when it was nearly dry, and now I'd like to put some fish into it.

The pond was more or less just a low spot that held water. Surface area was about 3/4 acre, more or less round - and about 12" to 18" deep of water and then mud. We started digging out with a trackhoe and two dozers and got as much of the mud out as we could. After we got the trackhoe stuck the 2nd time, we decided against cleaning it out all the way, so the middle part of the pond (maybe about 20%) still has the mud in it.

As we finished up, we raised the dam so the water level would be higher. Since our drought continued well into the fall, I was able to crawl out on the part of the pond we couldn't reach two months earlier with my little dozer. I ended up scraping a couple more feet off of it and piling it so as to make an island.

Now that water is in, I'm left with a pond that has a surface area of a little over and acre; it has an "above water" island that is about 30' diameter and an "underwater" island in the middle 20% of the pond. The water is about 4' deep over the "underwater" island and varies throughout the rest of the pond. There are a couple of areas that are about 10'-12', with a lot of the pond being 5'-6'. The banks have a relatively shallow angle.

The fish truck is coming to town in a few weeks and they have largemouth bass, bluegill, hybrid bluegill, channel catfish, fathead minnows, and sterile grass carp (weed control?).

I'm not going to be fertilizing or feeding the fish to any degree. I'm also not much of a fisherman, but my kids and in-laws like to fish, so it's more for them. They have caught bluegill in the pond they fished in last summer and seemed to enjoy that. The fish folks have a website that estimates the number of fish for a given area, I'm just looking for recommendations on the type of fish to stock.

Sorry if I was long-winded about the pond, but I thought that recommendations might be better if you guys knew the environment.

Thanks.

 

[20 20]

largemouth bass, bluegill, hybrid bluegill, channel catfish, fathead minnows, and sterile grass carp (weed control?).


If you go with bass also go with bluegill they will keep each other under control. You can also go with/add cat fish just make sure they have cover. What part of the country are you in that can also make a difference on types of fish?

 

[MarkV]

Put in Bluegill and Fathead minnows now and let them be until Fall. That should start them breeding and then you can add Bass.

MarkV

 

[MMagis]

Before investing a lot of money in fish, I'd be darn sure that the pond will hold water. To be honest, I'd be shocked if it did. The “raised the dam part” worries me.

 

[jimmyj]

Where approximately are you? Maybe it makes a difference.

 

[rtimgray]

Oh yes, the pond holds water. It's been full since mid winter and shows no signs of leakage. I still have to install my spillway. The "dam" isn't really a dam - the pond is a low spot at the convergence of some valleys. The raising of the dam was only by a couple of feet anyway.

The pond is in the western Kentucky area.

 

[forgeblast]

Before putting them in, you need to get the small scale micro's going. Look at fatheads, crayfish, and any other single cell creatures that make up the food chain.
look on page 8 and 22 of the zetts fish farm catalog.
http://zettsfishhatchery.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/CompleteCatalog.pdf

 

[MMagis]

Oh yes, the pond holds water. It's been full since mid winter and shows no signs of leakage. I still have to install my spillway. The "dam" isn't really a dam - the pond is a low spot at the convergence of some valleys. The raising of the dam was only by a couple of feet anyway.

The pond is in the western Kentucky area.

Honestly, you need to give it one full summer/fall before you can say it's not leaking. A leak isn't someething that's easy to see or find, and there's so much moisture in the winter/spring that you'd never know if it was leaking. Just my thoughts.

 

[jinman]

If there are areas of shallows in your pond, the gray and white herons will come often for a picnic. They can really thin out your fish population. They will take 8"-10" catfish and bass also. Big herons will take fish as large as a couple of pounds. If you don't have them in your area, you may have plenty of time to get your fish population established to where it can support some outside predators. I would start with a couple hundred hybrid bluegill and 10 lb of flathead minnows. If you can double the minnows to 20 lb, that would be even better.

 

[boggen]

you may not want to stock everything right away, but rather do so, over a couple years.

do a internet search for "fisheries" plus your state. and you should come back with a few "fisheries" around you. and they normally have suggested stocking levels and how to stock your lake. and when to stock certain type of fish.

bass / catfish, you may want to wait and hold off, so your non predator type of fish has a chance to grow and get a little bit of a foot hold. so when the predator fish do get put in. they don't wipe out the others.

Pond Boss Magazine: Welcome also has some info on stocking lakes and setting them up as well.