# Pond Stocking



## Drummer89 (Jul 9, 2005)

My friends and I stocked a 1 acre farm pond last year with baby largemouth bass, baby yellow perch, baby catfish, and lots and lots of minnows and feeders. We've fed the fish with pellets for the past year, and many fish come to the surface to feed.
The problem is, I don't see any largemouth bass or perch or cats, only 
small bluegill (which were already in the pond.)
I'm starting to wonder whether the bass and perch are still alive or if they've grown at all. They were only 1-2" when we first put them in, and we put in about 100 of each. 
How will I know if we still have those fish in the pond? Should I stock some larger bass or perch? Should I wait a year? I have no evidence that any of the fish we stocked are alive.
Thanks


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## fishingrookie (Jan 25, 2005)

One acre of pond is too small to support large number of fish. They will be stunted. Was the pound freshly digged when you stocked the fish? If so, then the baby LM would not have food to survive because the other fish would be too big for them to eat. You have to establish the forage fish first (such as minnows) then you can stock preditor fish like LM bass and Cats to feed them.

Why don't catch several big LM bass from other waters and put them in the pond so they can feed and reproduce there.

I would suggest that you contact your reginal DNR fish biologists to get some free advice. 




Drummer89 said:


> My friends and I stocked a 1 acre farm pond last year with baby largemouth bass, baby yellow perch, baby catfish, and lots and lots of minnows and feeders. We've fed the fish with pellets for the past year, and many fish come to the surface to feed.
> The problem is, I don't see any largemouth bass or perch or cats, only
> small bluegill (which were already in the pond.)
> I'm starting to wonder whether the bass and perch are still alive or if they've grown at all. They were only 1-2" when we first put them in, and we put in about 100 of each.
> ...


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## bassmanmark (May 17, 2005)

I would agree with fishingrookie, just catch bass from other waters in the 12 to 16 inch range and drop them in your pond. I would imagine that 1 to 2 inch bass is not the way to start a pond. You need around 10 to 15 nice bass and you will be set. Good Luck, Mark


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## rustyfish (Apr 27, 2004)

You did what you needed to do. As long as there were not large pred fish already in the pond then you did fine. Your numbers are fine to, but if there is a large number of stunted Bgills in the pond you might want to start removing them. Blue gills are easier to feed train and that is why you see them coming up to the top to eat and not the other fish. But those small fish you put in were eating the same things as the BGills, so when you got the Bgills feed trained then this took pressure off the bugs that Bass, cats, and perch are eating. Your bass are most likely starting to eat the the Bluegill young and should start growing well.

But this is assuming that nothing went wrong when you stocked them, Such as a kill due to temp or other water quality differences. if i was u i would find a sein or cast net and see if i could catch any of these fish. But i would not add anymore fish at this point. If you need to remove some Bgills and keep feeding them. If they did not die when you first stocked them then they sould be doing good.


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## mike leesville (Aug 30, 2004)

Go to www.dnr.state.oh.us and click on "fishing and wildlife" On next page click on "fishing" On next page under Wildlife Highlights click on "Pond Management" There are some really good articles that you can download regarding some of the issues you have been facing. Good luck......


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## rustyfish (Apr 27, 2004)

Yea that would help you, and it will most likely tell you what not to stock in you pond, and i am guesing Yellow perch will be one of the bad ones, they can overpopulate. But it is hard to tell, you might be fine if you harvest them when they get larger.


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## mike leesville (Aug 30, 2004)

Also, if you decide to re-stock make sure you put some cover in your pond so the largemouth fry have a place to hide so they don't get devoured by fish that are already in the pond. (tie a couple concrete block on some christmas trees and scatter around pond.) Don't stock perch or crappie, they will take over your pond. I think ODNR recommends bluegill, catfish (check for species), and largemouth. The website will tell you how many of each based on the size of your pond. They might even direct you to someone who can test your water if you think water quality is a problem. Sometimes the county extension agent can help you with that. Good luck.....


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