PLEASE! HELP me stock this pond!!!>>>

[basstim]

Is there anyone who can help stock a small 3/4 acre pond?

Are there good sites that that forums that specialize in this?

It is a 3/4 acre or so, muddy pond in MO.  It has a TON of green sunfish in it already it seems.  There are turtles and at least a couple - maybe 3 BIG snappers.  

It is very turbid.  I did a water sample and let it sit for 2 weeks and it never really cleared much, indicating that it is particulate and not as much mechanical.  But it's just a dirt bottom, so I'm worried that even if I add gypsum, etc, once it rains heavy, it will wash more particulates into the water that will stay suspended.

I stocked 50+ 7-9" bass last fall and I have YET to catch one (7 months later).  I also added 2000 minnows in the spring.

The herons around here have been snatching the sunfish and probably some of hte minnows too.  I saw one catch a BIG bass (10"), so at least one did make it, but I have seen no signs of them at the end of my pole.

Is there any hope for this thing?  I can take photos and add them as well.

I'm worried that It's just not going to be much of a pond ever.

Thanks

Tim

[fishfordollars]

Welcome to the forum.

Contact your county extension agent or his office. They can help you and direct you to the local individuals that can correctly analyze your pond and advise you accordingly.

It would help if you posted your location in your avatar to help you when asking questions. Your location will have everything to do with getting the most knowledegable answers to most of your questions.

[JShrock07]

i don't think I would have added so many minnows. The main thing I would do is get you a .22 and kill the nasty snappin turtles. They can over take a small pond before you know it.

[Idiot4]

yea u can take the snappers out, 3 of them might not be bad but one of them can lay 30-40 eggs lol. I started a project like this of my own last year but with a considerably smaller pond. About an acre and a half. Pickerol had taken over the whole pond, only thing that was left was them, cat fish, and crappies. So last year I stocked it with Bluegills and pumpkin sunfish first and then a few bass, and for the first time in my life ive pulled bass out of the lake. Sunny beds are everywhere and fry are jumping evrywhere. My thoughts would just be to give it a little more time, I know when they drain and dredge ponds around here it takes about a good 5-6 yrs for it to get good. But keep trying im sure some of them are bound to hit. Shouldnt have a problem with all the sunfish in there, thats enough to keep the bass growing and multiplying.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Assuming this is your pond...

feed the baitfish.  Fat and plentiful baitfish=FAT BASS (buy a pellet feeder)

Take out anything that competes with the bass.

As for the snappers, I would PLEASE ask/suggest, you relocate them as opposed to the simple .22 method.  A basketball sized turtle can be as old as 50-70 yrs and a manhole cover sized one as much as 150.  Just would seem a shame to end such an enduring life with a gun, because they don't suit our needs.  Just my opinion, it's your turtle

[garry77]

  Snappers are real easy to catch too so relocating them wouldn't be hard.Plus you're more likely to get them with this method.The .22 will work but a clorox jug with a big hook and a chicken gizzard are hard to beat.Ask around there is probably someone who'll eat them if you don't.

[Crank Addict]

I talked with a friend here in the Northwest who has a successful pond.  Along with not having any competing fish he added crawdads, snails and leeches.  I believe he ordered them from the Great Lakes area.

[Grey Wolf]

Assuming this is your pond...

feed the baitfish. Fat and plentiful baitfish=FAT BASS (buy a pellet feeder)

Take out anything that competes with the bass.

As for the snappers, I would PLEASE ask/suggest, you relocate them as opposed to the simple .22 method. A basketball sized turtle can be as old as 50-70 yrs and a manhole cover sized one as much as 150. Just would seem a shame to end such an enduring life with a gun, because they don't suit our needs. Just my opinion, it's your turtle

x2

[SENKOSAM]

It would be a good idea to check with the local DEP or DEC for a stocking permit if needed for your state.

A $15 dollar casting net from Walmart is good to collect a variety of small prey for a new pond. I've gone out to a small local pond, thrown bread balls to accumulate minnows and small sunfisn and brought in those species, tadpoles and crawfish. A Colman cooler is good for storage and some ice (frozen in a juice container with holes) helps to cool the water and helps with oxygenation.

If you fish a lake that has yellow perch, catch them and put them in because they are a major food item for bass. Large pumpkinseed sunnies will spawn and add to the food chain as well as be an aggressive and pretty fish for kids to catch.

Crappies are okay, but you want to keep down predators like pickerel that compete for the larger prey. (In theory larger bass have a larger prey preference (ie Dr. Keith Jones of Berkley) and should have little competition for medium to large prey.)

Heron can be a problem and leave dead uneaten fish on the shore. Not much you can do except chase them and Canadian geese off. Geese crap all over the place and can be nasty critters when in spawn.

Ditches and small streams are great places to net or set traps for crawfish. A chunk of raw chicken or boiled gizzards will net a dozen in 24 hours. Craws are another main prey source for bass and some panfish. It helps to unload medium size rock in the pond for the craws to hide and spawn.

Weeds are needed to help hide newborns, but invasive species will be a big nuisance if your not careful what you introduce. Pads and catails are the best to start and use up much of the nitrogen excreted in fish urine. They are tough to pull out of the ground from other locastions but worth it once established. Algae in the water does the same, adds oxygen, provides a sun filter and is beyond your control except don't allow fertilzer runoff to create an algae bloom which could drastically alter pH and a possible fishkill.

Ray Scott has written a book on creating and managing ponds. It might be a place to start for time saving tips.

[J_Zink]

Contact your local Missouri conservation agent.  The department is very helpful with small pond owners in assessing your water along with making recommendations on pond cleanup, fish stocking ratio's, etc.

Also, the department has free literature on their website for pond owners.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

I wonder if adding a couple cats would help with the keeping it clean, being a bottom feeder, but they will hit bass lures so I wonder if they would be considered competition.  Maybe a carp or 2?  

Mr Lusk?  Fluke?  Any enlightenment?

[Cujo]

Check out the Pond Boss forums.  Those guys will answer your question in a professional manor.  They are full of great information!