Stocking Private Pond

[MaineBassFishin]

Just have a few questions on if i i could stock a pond I have. First some background info, the area next to our house is pretty swampy so our neighbors a few years back had a small pond dug to help drain water from there back yard, this pond is on our land which I didnt care that it was dug because its out of the way in the woods. the Pond is approx. 50'x50' and around 10-15 feet deep its mostly swampy but with duck weed. My questions would be-

-Can this pond be stocked?

-If not what steps would i need to do to be able to get it to stocking quality?

-I would like some type of game fish like trout,bass, pickerel etc. not koi or any of those where would I be able to get these

Also I live In Maine so it freezes over in the winter and is pretty warm in the summer thanks, and if this isn't in the right area can someone please move it?

[Packard]

Just have a few questions on if i i could stock a pond I have. First some background info, the area next to our house is pretty swampy so our neighbors a few years back had a small pond dug to help drain water from there back yard, this pond is on our land which I didnt care that it was dug because its out of the way in the woods. the Pond is approx. 50'x50' and around 10-15 feet deep its mostly swampy but with duck weed. My questions would be-

-Can this pond be stocked?

-If not what steps would i need to do to be able to get it to stocking quality?

-I would like some type of game fish like trout,bass, pickerel etc. not koi or any of those where would I be able to get these

Also I live In Maine so it freezes over in the winter and is pretty warm in the summer thanks, and if this isn't in the right area can someone please move it?

1. It can be stocked.

2. Try to keep it clean and you should be fine.

3. The pond could suit bass but isn't ideal for trout and I don't know what a pickerel is. Bass are expensive to stock, the cheap ones are blugill, channel catfish, and redears. You can buy them online or at a local dealer.

Here are some links to websites you may find useful.

Stocking Fact Sheet

Dunns Fish Farm

How to Stock a Pond

[Sam]

You may also want to suscribe to Pond Management magazine.

Did you think of contacting a local fish hatchery to get their input?

[Sfritr]

Contact the local DNR to check for regulations as well

Also, one of the best ways to stock cheaply is to transfer fish from one pond to another. Grab a 5gal bucket and go at it. Sooner or later the birds will stock it for you in some fashion.

As stated, bass are not cheap to stock. Those can be transferred if you have the means to do it. I would stay away from pike. They can compete heavily with the bass as the dominant predator in the lake and may affect growth rates of bass. just my .02

[webertime]

I'd stock Crappie ASAP and then next spring throw in some Bass. Gives the pond a chance to firmly establish a forage base for the Bass. 50x50 isn't all that big though so keep that in mind.

Just have a few questions on if i i could stock a pond I have. First some background info, the area next to our house is pretty swampy so our neighbors a few years back had a small pond dug to help drain water from there back yard, this pond is on our land which I didnt care that it was dug because its out of the way in the woods. the Pond is approx. 50'x50' and around 10-15 feet deep its mostly swampy but with duck weed. My questions would be-

-Can this pond be stocked?

-If not what steps would i need to do to be able to get it to stocking quality?

-I would like some type of game fish like trout,bass, pickerel etc. not koi or any of those where would I be able to get these

Also I live In Maine so it freezes over in the winter and is pretty warm in the summer thanks, and if this isn't in the right area can someone please move it?

[jp1979]

I'd stock Crappie ASAP and then next spring throw in some Bass. Gives the pond a chance to firmly establish a forage base for the Bass. 50x50 isn't all that big though so keep that in mind.

Crappie are not recommended for bodies of water this small, they will overpopulate and stunt. you should stick with bluegill as your forage species for the bass.

[MaineBassFishin]

Would shivers work instead of bluegill?

[jp1979]

Would shivers work instead of bluegill?

Shiners? i know alot of people in the south use them as additional forage for bass ponds, but not in place of the bluegill.

you should go to pondboss.com and look in the forums. it is probably the best resource for pond management info on the net, and the experts there are very helpful.

you may be able to get yellow perch in your area, they would provide good forage for bass.

[Sam]

"Crappie are not recommended for bodies of water this small, they will overpopulate and stunt. you should stick with bluegill as your forage species for the bass."

100% CORRECT!

Keep crappie and all other species out of the pond. This includes catfish.

Go with minnows, bluegills, bream and bass.

Throw in some crawfish and you are ready to roll.

[MaineBassFishin]

thanks guys how much do you think it will cost to stock this pond?

[TouchTooMuch]

We have a pond that is two acres. We have bass, catfish, and different species of sunfish. We are going to stock it with minnows to give the bass some girth to them. We will also stock it with some green amor (which is basically a carp that feeds off seaweed) to keep the weeds down. We have actually put one pike in there and as far as we know he is still kicking. but for a 50x50 pond I would stick to red ears, and bass. try to get some old tree limps for cover and small rocks for the red ears to spawn at. also stock it with minnows for forage for the bass. I would stock it with minows and red ears this fall, then sometime in the early spring or fall stock it with the bass.

[Packard]

"Crappie are not recommended for bodies of water this small, they will overpopulate and stunt. you should stick with bluegill as your forage species for the bass."

100% CORRECT!

Keep crappie and all other species out of the pond. This includes catfish.

Go with minnows, bluegills, bream and bass.

Throw in some crawfish and you are ready to roll.

Catfish are great for ponds...

[North Ga Hillbilly]

I have helped mess around with a similarly sized pond for years, catfish have a way of getting out of control in a pond this small and will eat up about anything. However you can have a great catfish pond, but that's only catfish. You might find it hard to maintain a good balance between predator and prey, we sure have. Supplemental feeding for the blue gills has been necessary,

NGaHB

[hatrix]

I'm actually about to catch catfish and remove them from my pond. They compete with the bass for food at catfish eat a ton of the BG. there is quite a few 10 pounders and at atleast one i know of over 20. That's a lot of potential weight that could be used up for bass to get bigger. Also I believe BG is better to stock then RES because they spawn more then once per year.

[FD.]

2 years ago I dug a 2.5 acre pond for a client. During construction we added concrete rubble, old stumps and dug deeper holes for structure. About an eighth of an acre was built as a spawning flat that will only have 3-4 ft of water in the spring. We got the banks stabilized, added aeration and a dye to limit the algae growth. In the first November we used a cast net to catch minnows and juvenile blue gill from another pond on the property and transferred them to the new one. In December we added 1250 juvenile blue gill from a hatchery and an automatic feeder. In January I relocated several 2-3 lb females with row and several small males to the new pond. In March we added 750 fingerling bass from a hatchery.

The pond is now producing pan sized blue gill and 1-3 lb largemouth. There are also 2-4 lb tilapia and several species of catfish that we did not stock.