stocking question

[Red]

well i am trying to get some info for a friend of my fathers.  he lives in upstate NY and recently had a 1 acre pond built on his property.  it is 17 feet deep in the middle with a graduale slope up to shore.  he has placed several different things in it for cover(brush piles, old tires etc etc.)  anyway he is looking to stock it with bass.  he currently has 1,000 minnows that are going to be added.  he can purchase the bass in two different sizes, 2-3 inches and/or 4-6 inches.  he is wondering which size would be better? also he was told that the max for a 1 acre tank is 100 bass.  do you think he should go with less if he wants to have bigger fish?  or will they have plenty of room on 1 acre with 100 bass?  also, what other options does he have for bait fish?  i am sure frogs will eventually find their way to the shoreline.  will the minnows reproduce?  should he add some blue gills/sunfish?  can craws survive in such a small tank?  any info you can provide would be much appreciated by myself, my pop and his friend!!

thanks

Cliff

[SenkoBasser]

They should check with the local Fish and Game. I believe you need licenses and permits and stuff like that. Don't quote me on it. But, if you check with them, they will tell you what to add and what not to add.

[Grey Wolf]

Seek professional help. That seems like a lot of bass for a one acre pond.

[tyrius.]

He first needs to put in bluegills/sunfish in the fall and then put the bass in the next spring.  You need to ensure that you have a good source of food for the bass that you are putting in.

If you search your state's DNR website you should find some tips and they may even have a program where they'll send someone out to stock it for you.

[WRB]

You need to contact the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and they will stock the pond and recommend what the forage base should be. Generally you stock bass fingerlings after everything else is established.

WRB

[Hoover]

WRB,  I think the pond is in upstate NY, not TX.

[GitRDoneIke23]

You need to contact the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and they will stock the pond and recommend what the forage base should be. Generally you stock bass fingerlings after everything else is established.

WRB

Red's in TX his dad's friend and the pond is in ny.

You'll definatley going to want to have a good bluegill/perch population before you begin to stock it. We're trying to stock a friends' 1/2 acre pond. And everybody has said make sure you have a good bait population first. (makes sense don't it. ) We're going to wait a whole year after the first stocking of baitfish. All we're doing right now is throwing in any bluegill and perch we catch.

Ike 8-)

[simplejoe]

up camp we have a 1 acre pond and what  the owners did is stocked it with bluegill for the kids to fish and waited till the 2nd summer and then stocked 50 bass and waited another year to stock 50 more and let it go to grow on its own, he said every once in awhile he throws a few dozen of shiners in as a treat to all of the fish, but now you can catch some nice bass out of it, but he has one rule you catch it you release it

[Red]

thanks for the info guys, i have passed it on.  i also did some researce of my own and passed it on as well.  i am going to be able to check this pond out for myself in june.  the good thing about it for this guy is money is not a problem for him, so he can basically do what ever is needed.

thanks

Cliff

[Bob Lusk]

Hey Red!

I've done quite a bit of work in upstate New York, from west of Rochester to Syracuse and a few points east and south of there. He does need to check in with the NY D.E.C. for suppliers of fish and possible permits for the fish he wishes to stock.

Largemouth bass grow exceptionally slowly in upstate NY, mainly because it takes half the growing season to grow the forage fish which feed bass. Because of that little fact, bluegill have gotten a bad name. Bluegill actually grow faster than bass in that part of the world. At the same time, I am of the opinion that he needs bluegill with the fathead minnows to be the backbone of the food chain for his bass. Also, I think he should stock only 50 bass...and stock the larger ones.

Another option he has is to buy feed-trained largemouth bass. That way, his fish won't totally depend on forage fish for their entire food chain. He can feed them a high quality fish food and hedge his bets.  One quality supplier of feed trained bass is Hickling's Fish Farm near Edmiston, NY.

[key chain bass guy]

I was wondering when Mr. Lusk would make an appearance.  As always, great post, I just wish most the information didn't go way over my head.

Glenn, do you take nominations for Elite member.  If so, Bob Lusk is my nominee.