What sort of fish for my pond?

[SPIKER]

With the Sping Fed pond and OCLD water Trout will live and will love the leaches.

but they are also a delicate fish and if too much leaves ect get in there they will kill off fast.

for a fish that is great for eating and catching as well as cleaning up the bugs and goose poop I would go for the bluegills, hybrids green redear or good ole plane bluegills. add a few large mouth bass to help keep the sunfish popluation in check and enjoy you're pond once again. forgo the catfish as they will mucky up the pond in nothing flat for a 1/3 acre...

Mark M /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Dozernut]

I went with the DNR program when I stocked my 4+ acre pond and it cost me $27. The state biologist advised me on species and I ended up with Bluegill, Red Ear Sunfish. LM Bass and channel cat. I was advised not to put Crappie in the pond as they are too prolific and will take over (they did on my father-in-laws pond). I was also told by the biologist not to stock hybrid Bluegill. He said that they have found that not all the hybrids are sterile and will reproduce. The problem is they will revert back to the species that make up the hybrid, Green Sunfish and Yellow Perch. Green Sunfish are aggressive feeders and will rob your bass of the prey species they use for food and the bass have trouble eating the Greens because of their fins. Plus the Green Sunfish are very prolific breeders and will over populate a pond.
I am no expert on fish, but this is what an expert told me. You might get in touch with your states DNR and see what they have to offer. They are located in with the USDA office in my state.

 

[fishman]

AlanL,

Your stocking rates are perfect for this area. Good job.

 

[fishman]

Dozernut,

You are right, hybrid bluegill offspring will revert to green sunfish or bluegill. In most lakes this is a minor issue, as they don't produce enough green sunfish to be a problem. If the goal is keeping the leeches down, the more the better anyway! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[MossRoad]

Sounds nice! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif I don't have a pond, but grew up on a lake and would like to build a small pond such as yours some day. I have been studying this stuff since 1976 when, as a 15 year old Boy Scout I participated in a planned fish kill with our DNR on our lake. It has been a fascination of mine ever since.

I agree with the other folks that suggest contacting your local extension agent or state biologist. They know your area better than most folks.

Here in Northern Indiana they recommend bass, bluegill and maybe some channel catfish. They recommend specific ratios of each. The bass keep the bluegill populations in check. The catfish rarley reproduce unless given places to hide their babies from the bass. They discourage bullheads because they stir up the silt on the bottom. Despite popular notions, the channel cats do not stir up the bottom. Most ponds here do not do well with trout because of high summer temperatures, but more importantly, low summer oxygen levels. Trout need more oxygen than other types of fish. If your pond has good oxygen and temps, then I'd stock some trout. They are fun to watch. I personally like to eat bluegill more than trout, but most folks enjoy a good trout dinner. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif They also discourage crappie and perch in small ponds because they are more open water type fish and tend to quickly over populate a small pond.

The main thing they stress is this and it applies no matter your geographic location:
A body of water can sustain a fixed amount of pounds of fish. Let's say your pond can sustain 100 pounds of fish. That can be one thousand 1/10 pound fish, one hundred 10 pound fish or one 100 pound fish, or any combination of those to equal 100 pounds total. That's why it's important to maintain a predator to feeder fish ratio like bass and bluegill. You could in a few years end up with a bazillion little tiny fish if you aren't careful. Then you have to kill the whole pond and start over.

Anyway, too long of a post... consult your local people and they'll usually be glad to give you some help that is almost always very good. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Alan L.]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( AlanL,

Your stocking rates are perfect for this area. Good job. )</font>

I'd like to take credit, but I just did what the outfit that sold me the fish recommended. I don't remember who it was, but they advertised in Pond Boss (which I subscribe to) and are out of Whitesboro or Gainesville I think.

So far everything is good.