# pike stocking



## castmaster00

do any of you think that stocking pike in a lake where the bluegill are way too tiny and just take up vital resources for the bass,would hurt the enviorment? if not where can i find a good number of fish 10 inches and up? im hoping to create a self sustaining pike or pickeral population


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## homeworker

Good theory, but be carefull. Northerns need cool, clean water to survive, let alone thrive to the point they'd help with your plan. They simply can't survive or reproduce to any degree in most area waters, which are either too warm because of ,for the most part, because of overall shallowness or are simply too dirty, the Portage Lakes being the best known example.Old timers will recall the state biologists frustration that the Cuyahoga River harbored such a quality population of bluegills and crappie naturally whereas the state run lakes were somehow less successful, despite all the biologists, money, and experimentation.
They transported small northerns to the P.Lakes from the river during several experiments in the 70s and 80s, but though a smallish population did survive-and still does(anemically)at Nimisila-it was an overall disaster with many of the northerns dying the day they were introduced.
Stocking waters is not as easy as people think.
By the way, northern pike are also very expensive to buy from farms(like Zetts in Pa.)and illegal as hell to privately displace.
I'd try good-sized catfish for what you're trying.


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## SConner

Hope you have a private lake, otherwise what you are talking about sounds illegal. We don't always have to agree with ODNR programs, but should always abide by them. If they thought stocking pike was a good option for any of our public waters, they would already be doing it. Hate to see anyone get in trouble because they did not know the laws regarding the transport of fish. If someone knows exactly where this is posted, please provide link for all to view.


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## Shortdrift

If you wnt to knock down the panfish population and be able to easily remove your "control" fish, think about using channels in place of the pike. 
I know of two lakes that used northerns and the result was a reduction of panfish as well as bass to the point that the lake DID NOT produce quality fishing. I released three channel cats into my neighbors 3/4 acre lake which had a ton of 5 and 6 inche panfish plus a lot of 10 to 12 inch bass with a few in the 16 to 18 inch bracket. It is now four years later and the lake/pond supports 8 to 10 inch panfish and a good population of 14 to 16 inch bass plus a few 19 to 20 inchers. I did remove one of the channel cats in the third year and it seems things have worked out well.


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## jojopro

OOOH...So that's why you only want to catch small pike  Well whether you are talking about your own private or a public body of water it is definitely illegal to catch fish from one place and transfer them to another. If it is your own private body of water than I believe that you can stock it with whatever you wish as long as you legally purchase the species from a licensed fish farm. 

*"It is unlawful to transport and introduce any aquatic species (fish, invertebrate, plant) from one body of water to another."* 
- Quoted from ODNR Fishing Regulations
http://www.ohiodnr.com/wildlife/dow/regulations/fishing_general.aspx


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## riverKing

you can legally catch fish and move them into a private body of water, aka a pond, also a good friend of mine has family north of dayton with pike and walleye in there pond, and they both apparently do well.  however there are alot of factors going onto why they do well, if you have a deep shaded pond or one with a spring give it a shot. dont expect them to control your bluegills, they will probably only exist in small numbers. however as mentioned, not cheap, not a sure bet of survival, if you put them in stock them early in the spring or in the fall when the water is cooler so they will handle the shock better. also as mentioned catfish may help a bluegill problem, 3 10lb flatties will eat alot of gills. one of the most often missed things with pond managment however is keeping bass, ponds will often get large numbers of bass that top out at 10-12in and a bunch of little bluegills, these ponds often need more cover as well, but not always. if you do have a bunch of stunted bass, go have a fish fry, bring out some kids and kill a hundred or so. i once removed over 400 bass under 10in from one 2 acre pond and it still didnt make a noticable change. a little more info may help, is this a private pond, pond info ect.


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## bassmastermjb

Shortdrift is right, stick with the channel cats and you won't regret it. If you want a couple nice healthy 5-8 lb channels give me a call this spring.......Mark 330-221-5213


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## Bobinstow90

Lake/pond management is way more complex than most of us realize. 

The "law of unintended consequences" can bring undesirable outcomes from good intentions. This has repeatedly occured (in nature) not only in the US, but around the globe. 

For public water, it seems to make sense for nature to do her thing......maybe aided by the (so called) educated experts.


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## castmaster00

what about chain pikerel or grass pike? does anyone know if those would work? the lake is about 20-25 ft. deep and provides good weed growth so it is definatley fertile.


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## Fishinmagician

Stocking chain pickerel or grass pike will not help your situation. They only grow to about a maximum of 10-20 inch. Everyone else has already posted a lot of great info on pike stocking. Deep water, shaded, cool, etc. Cats would be a great way to get rid of some of those gills. Also, the fish fry idea is a good one. Have some kids come out and they will have a great time catching and maybe learn something about the sport. Good Luck.


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## Saildog

This is the best article I've found yet:

http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/pike.html

With very few exceptions, pike are a bad, bad idea. Give us a better idea of the overall pond situation (what species, how much water, etc.) and we might be able to help more. Also, when's the last time you verified the depth? I've seen 18' deep ponds fill up with silt and turn into 6' deep ponds in a decade.


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## Bobinstow90

Saildog...that article is excellent. Most of us have fished ponds where everything was small. I have always figured it was overpopulation that stunted the fish growth but this article explains another answer.

Thanks Saildog.


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## castmaster00

thanks for that article but now i am thinking about stocking yellow perch. so what do you guys think about that idea?


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## Saildog

Here's some direct questions I think we'd all need to know first:

1) What is the primary goal for your pond? Panfish or bass? 

2) What species are present right now?

3) How many acres is it?

4) Break it down percentage wise how much of it is under 5' deep, between 5' and 10' deep, and more than 10' deep...

5) How much shade vs. sunlight does it get? 

6) What is the water clarity? Clean, stained or muddy?  

As a general rule, you're better off sticking to bass, bluegill and catfish in most Ohio ponds. Those three species work really well together. If you were starting from scratch you could make perch successful, but it's harder in established ponds with other species present.


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## Bass Day

This article backs up what Shortdrift said about the Channel Cats;
http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/catfish_stocking.html


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## firelands

I don't know about ponds but there was a local reservoir that had pike in it before the dam washed out. About 20 or so acres. There were far fewer little gills and crappies in it before the pike were gone.


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## castmaster00

there are also already crappie in there and they are thriving happily. should i be concerned?


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## jcustunner24

cast - who's pond is it that you're thinking of disrupting? What you've described is not stocking. You've already hinted that you don't own the pond with your comment "i will have to remember that for later use when I stock a pond of my own" in post 11 of this thread. You also hinted in an earlier thread that you want to catch a good number of small pike to transport to this pond/lake.

This is a bad idea on almost every level because it sounds to me that you have access to a lake/pond but that location does not quite suit your fancy in terms of fish size/species.

1.) If you don't own the land, don't alter it. If you cause unintended consequences I believe you'd be legally responsible for it. 

2.) I may be totally off base here, but I think transporting young pike from one body of water to another is extremely difficult and if they aren't dead by the time you get them from whatever you're transporting them in to the new water, they will be shortly after.

3.) I agree with the channel cats theory, unless my #1 is correct. Don't introduce anything to a lake that isn't yours unless requested by the owner, and if it's state property, don't even attempt it. Google "snakehead" and "Potomac river" to get a better idea of the consequences that sometimes come with introduction of a foreign species to a body of water.


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## cummins_man

Cast - If you want more people to reply, maybe you could say something like "Hey I'm thinking of stocking some pike, walleye and muskie in a pond".

I think I would follow the channel cat advise. I am stocking some this spring in my pond to help balance out the fish. I'm working with a fish farmer and reading the ODNR stock rates. I am going to start with some very very low stock rates because I know the cats will spawn in my pond.

I have tons of grass pike and bull heads in my pond. The grass pike are not big enough to eat much more than baby fish and minnows, but in the spring they will attack some pretty big spoons. That makes me wonder how big a fish they try to eat. The bull heads are about 10" max and the bass will eat them while I'm throwing out the fish chow.

If you want to catch some pike for fun, go down to the cuyahoga river and have a ball, just leave the fish there and don't ruin your pond. A 3 acre pond is far to big to have to fix.

I would love to have some crappie in my pond, but my perch are slow to establish so I am holding off for now. I bought walley last year for one of my ponds but the dealer sold my 1,000 fish to his prior stop, so I'm still working on those.


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## c-orth513

A pond I go to has large bluegill, bass, and a few large cats. But there are a few small northerns that can live there.

It wouldn't hurt the enviroment by putting pike in there, as long as they can legally be taken.


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