# Stocking advice



## pikekilla (Aug 28, 2012)

I have a 4 acre pond in N.E. Ohio. It is a reclaimed gravel pit. It has a max depth of 14 feet and I am told it is spring fed, although it did drop about 3 feet this summer during the drought. It has lots of sand and gravel bottom and varying depths and good hump structure. Someone stocked red ear, bluegill and large-mouth in there about 4 years ago and they seem to be doing very well. 

What I am wondering is if I stock some walleye, perch, smallmouth and black crappie in there, if they will do well and reproduce? And, do I need to stock larger ones because of the bass? Also, what is the best time of year to stock?::B:F


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## [email protected] (Dec 22, 2006)

All of the fish listed will likely live. Get a pro to come in and do a survey. Making significant changes to existing populations in 4 acres takes a solid assessment and good data to develop a plan with clearly set goals in mind. The cost of assessment will likely save money in the long run and you'll stand a much better chance of success. Undoing mistakes in 4 acres can be difficult.


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## keith_r (Jun 18, 2010)

i agree,,, also, check out the "pond boss forum"..
the first thing you need to do is identify your goals.. then ask lots of questions


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## cincinnati (May 24, 2004)

Generally speaking, your choices will not do well in a pond of your size.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/a-fact/0010.html


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## papaperch (Apr 12, 2004)

Generally speaking smallmouths and walleyes are not good choices for ponds.

For some reasons perch and black crappie do well in some ponds not so well in others. Used to fish a pond in northeast ohio that produced jumbo perch that [people refused to believe came from a pond. It also produced large black crappie but nowhere numerous as the perch.

I personally believe but have to way to prove that it depends on the forage base that is most prevalent in the particular pond. Seems like the one with healthy minnow populations produce the bigger crappie and perch. Once again this is just a hunch. Based on the largest fish I ever caught of three different species all came from the same pond. At first the pond was used strictly used for raising fathead minnows. After about 10 years fish started showing up in the owners pond. The owner never stocked any but believed people from neighboring farms snuck a few in there to create a future " honey hole ".

Whatever they thought ,they did succeed in creating a great fishing spot much to the chagrin of the owner. When new pond builders asked us what to stock in their pond first . I would always answer fatheads for the first year and start with fish the second year.

Fathead minnows breed once the water temp reaches 70 degrees and continue to breed until water temp falls below 70 degrees . So an initial stocking of 3 -5 pounds of minnows can lead to 10's of thousands minnows in your pond the next year. Allowing for normal losses by other creatures who feast on minnows this one time stocking should establish a strong forage base for your fish.

Dumping minnows in an old pond with an established fish population does little more than feed them for a day. The minnows are creamed in the shallows before they can even start to look for a safe refuge. Stocking the minnows ahead allows them to learn the lay of the land so to speak and are not as easy targets for the fish.


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## [email protected] (Dec 22, 2006)

A few more thoughts. Smallmouth do well in ponds, they just don't compete well with largemouth bass. Old Quarrys have been used to grow out walleye in cages and a 4 acre quarry probably has better habitat than most clay lined ponds. If you're not wanting to hire a pro, at the least collect weight data on the fish you catch and compare to Wr charts to see if your system can feed more predators or to make considerations for what you'll need to change to add them successfully. And yes, you'd probably want to stock large enough ones that the bass won't eat them or grow them out yourself in a netted off area or cages.


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