# Does a small lake need to be "stocked?"



## TommyV (Aug 31, 2005)

Fellow fishermen:

I am considering purchasing a property here in SW Ohio that has a 15 acre lake on it - my dream! Now, the lake is actually a 10 year old "borrow pit" from the construction of an interstate highway. It is visible from the highway, but still relatively secluded. It has NEVER BEEN STOCKED, NOR HAS IT EVER BEEN FISHED! I am looking for a bass lake. I looked at this lake the other day and it has all the makings of a good bass lake - plenty of vegetation and sloping depth from 1 to 30 feet. The only fish I could see in the lake were bluegills. They got in there some way. Now, do you all think from your experience that bass have made their way into this lake as well? I would greatly appreciate your input.

Tommy V

:G


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## NKUSigEp (Jun 21, 2007)

I would bet there's a better chance of bass being in there than not, but there's only one way to find out ya know? From what I've heard and read, smaller lakes don't typically need to be stocked. If the fish are there already, just make sure they're getting enough forage and maybe transport a few larger fish from other ponds to help control populations.

Sloping 1-30 ft with lots of veggies sounds like a good place for a few nice channel cats...or maybe just one HUGE one.


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## XL506 (Jul 13, 2007)

With the lake being 10 years old, I'd imagine it hold some decent Bass already. Lakes get " naturally " stocked by other animals, for example: Lakes can get fish in them from ducks swimming in one body of water, and getting eggs on their feet, and then landing in your pond and the eggs wash off their feet and "hatch" in your lake. Also, from ducks eating out of one lake, they can ingest fish eggs, and fly over your pond and drop a deposit in your pond, and in turn digesting fish eggs into the water, and WAHLLAH.. fish. lol, there are lot's of ways these ponds get naturally stocked. If you're near another body of water, flooding can also do this. I sometimes fish in a small farm pond owned by my aunt, it's about 20-25 years old, and it has HUGE bass, carp, bluegills, and channels in it. If you got a pond that's 10 years old, you've a pond with fish in it.


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## cjbrown (May 22, 2007)

If it was built by the state for construction or a borrow pit it should be stocked. One way to find out, gimme a call when you buy it and we'll fish it. Either way, you may have found a small treasure.


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## TommyV (Aug 31, 2005)

I hope to hear more from you and may take you up on a fishing test.

Tommy V


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## Mushijobah (May 4, 2004)

Dude, you are so lucky.


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## iteech (Apr 4, 2005)

...almost for sure. It's been my experience that if the water is that old--and if there's a healthy population of ANY other fish in there--there's almost surely bass. I would not be the least surprised if there's some bigun's in that water. Will the sellers let you fish it? That's the only definitive thing, ya know. I don't know all the rules and what-not, but you may get the OH fish and game folks to shock it for you--that's a fairly harmless way to tell what is in there immediately. When some friends of mine in GA bought a big piece of land with a little natural lake (they thought--the sellers did not know how the water got there) on it a few years ago, they got the f&g folks to do that free--and whooeee, that turned out good. It had never been fished or stocked, but the f&g guys told them it had a natural spring feeding it (which no one knew) AND it was full of gi-normous cat and bass. Don't know 'bout OH, but you can try.


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## [email protected] (Dec 22, 2006)

Tommy, If the lake has bluegills it probably has bass too. Having fish at all is a good sign that it will support fish. I'd recommend getting Ray Scott's and Bob Lusk's books on pond management. They will help a great deal in learning what to look for in a good pond for puchase and aid in management a great deal once the dream is realized. As far a natural stockings, birds carrying eggs on their feet I find this highly unlikely unless another body of water containing fish is extremely close. As far as an egg actually surviving through the digestive track of a bird... impossible. An electroshocking survey may be a good investment for a lake with an existing population.


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## TommyV (Aug 31, 2005)

That shocking sounds like a good investment. I will also check out those books you mentioned...I would love to be able to help forge a great bass lake.

TommyV


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## crocodile (Sep 26, 2006)

What you want to do is find out what is already in the lake. Before you start stocking you need a good forage fish basis. Most people go with bluegills and crappie. Choose a predator species that you want to manage your lake for. We built our lake, so we stocked all of our own fish. Ronnie


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## yakfish (Mar 13, 2005)

I'm not 100 % sure if you can say if there are fish in there or not, but I am willing to help you find out ...lol. let me now!


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## P[email protected] (Dec 22, 2006)

White Crappies are never recommended for such a small body of water and they are not forage, they are a predator. Some give exception to Black Crappies but in general the rules apply the same. They are extremely hard to manage, not impossible but difficult...why risk it. But like Croc said you gotta know what you're starting with and have defined goals to come up with a management plan. It would also be a good idea to get some water tests done. Stocking fish from public waters is illegal and from other private lakes is not a good idea for the possibility of introducing disease or unwanted species.


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## crocodile (Sep 26, 2006)

We stocked whites but I haven't seen a increase of the population. I think it is because our predatory population is big. The saugeye's are big and I have caught several saugeye's that had white crappies in their mouth in our lake. Ronnie


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## CasualFisherman (May 21, 2004)

Well Tommy you are on the verge of most angler's dreams. A 15 acre lake is pretty substantial and could have numerous applications if you want to take the time and effort to manage it effectively. Below are my recommendations:

STEP 1- You must establish the current status of the lake and what species are present along with their reproduction rates. This is best done with a large seine during mid-summer. You are not trying to catch large fish but rather the small fry from the previous spring. This should tell you a lot about the species composition, forage availability, and overall reproduction success for the various species. You don't have to stock if you are finding plenty of natural reproduction from your desired species. Fishing it will give you an indication as to how successful certain species are growing and if populations are healthy but the fry will be a better indicator of if stocking or culling will be needed.
STEP 2- Take some water samples and temps from various spots and depths and have them analyzed. ( Many counties will do this for you at no cost) They can tell you about the micro-organisms and most importantly the oxygen levels in the water. 
STEP 3- Take the information from the two previous steps and combine with what you are desiring out of your lake. It is impossible to tell what the potential is without the above data being collected as this should tell you what your lake could support. The rest is just executing on a good plan. The state formulas are often geared towards an easy to maintain and natural balance approach but by no means are you limited to the old BASS, bluegill, catfish models they promote. With the data you gather you should be able to formulate a management plan to get your desired result from your lake. These would include any necessary supplemental stockings, Adding/removing structure or vegetation, or culling populations to bring desired balance to your lake. I know you mentioned bass but there is a big difference between managing for numbers of healthy fish (2-4lbs) and managing for trophy size (5lb and up) Many ponds will not attain the latter when following the typical model for pond management. 
STEP 4- Execute on your management plan. Count on it taking a couple of years or even more to achieve your desire result. If you are lucky, you may already have excellent fishing and can enjoy increasing quality as you implement a management plan. 

With the age of the lake, there is definitely an existing ecosystem. If you do purchase the property, take the time to do a good assessment right off the bat and if you get stuck, that is what this forum is for. I am sure there are plenty of sportsmen that would be happy to give advice along the way.

Good Luck!!!


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## TommyV (Aug 31, 2005)

You sound very, very knowledgeable. I will certainly seek out information on this site. I love this site! There are some great people with superb advice on our SW Ohio site. The only thing I would like to add to this site is the Reel Lady from NE Ohio!!! !%


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