# Stocking rate



## bonifas9017 (May 23, 2011)

I was wondering if anyone has stocking rates for a pond with largemouth bass perch and channel catfish. Thanks


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## hang_loose (Apr 2, 2008)

You are going to need some gills and some bait fish to feed those predators....Even with pellet food...

How old and big is the pond?


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## [email protected] (Dec 22, 2006)

and what are your goals for the pond specifically? High catch rate, trophy class, meat? Is there an existing population?


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## bonifas9017 (May 23, 2011)

New pond. I would like high catch rate and meat 


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## Ben Fishing (Aug 2, 2010)

I put 50 cats in my 1/3 acre pond with the ambition to harvest half of them.
I have 500 bluegill, 35 bass, and 50 cats in this pond with golden shinners and fat head minnows.


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## [email protected] (Dec 22, 2006)

Bonifas, if high catch rates and meat is a priority and big fish not, you could stay with the same rates that OSU recommends http://ohioline.osu.edu/a-fact/0010.html
Largemouth require a highly reproductive forage like bluegill to maintain good growth, they are very demanding on a system and will easily eat perch half their size. 

How about this option (qty per acre): 75 Hybrid striped bass, 100 yellow perch (feed trained), as many channel cats as you will eat in 2 years (up to 75). Also about 30lbs each of fathead minnows and golden shiners with a supplemental pellet feeding program. The wipers and channels will grow fast and both put up a heck of a fight and are easy to catch. The perch will take a little longer to grow but having them on pellets will greatly shorten the timeframe until they're harvestable. This would very much be a put and take set-up as the channels likely won't and wipers will not reproduce. The yellow perch reproduction is unreliable and those produced in your pond won't readily take artificial feed. All of these fish are great table fare. This would be a fairly easy to manage pond and a heck of a lot of fun to fish.


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

+1 to what [email protected] said. its about how my pond is managed, I have HSB up to 4 lbs, Bluegills up to 10+ " Yellow Perch to 13" and Black Crappies also up to about 13", the channel cats found a way to spawn but most are between 4-7 lbs. all a blast when the wee kids hook into something with a little size on it...

Salmonid


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## [email protected] (Dec 22, 2006)

Here's a hybrid striper I stocked at 7" in August of 2006 less than two years later. If I had another pond, I would seriously consider stocking only these. For growth, sport and fillets these are a clear winner over largemouth in ponds in my book.










at 4 years


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