Old Pond with no fish

[jsharp]

Could anyone give me there thoughts on my pond.It's spring feed we had it dug out this year when we were building our house.But there is no signs of any fish. I want to stock it but there is no vegetation in it now,just a big hole.What do I have to do for the fish for they can feed ?Is there some kind of feeder fish you can put in.Maybe some old trees,grass or something?

James

[Rick F]

For the best information look up Ray Scott on the internet. He is the king of building and stocking ponds and lakes.

[SKMO]

Call the Kansas City MDC office. 816-655-6254

They have Fisheries Biologists who can help with pond management issues.

You can also get free fish to stock with from them, as long as the pond currently has no fish, is at least 1/4 acre in size, and has a portion of it at least 8' deep

[TexomaOkie]

Ray Scott is the "king" of pond management practices. However, many of his techniques can be time consuming and expensive to implement.

Here in southern Oklahoma, folks use sunken cedar trees and old tires to create cover in new farm ponds. They're both easy to place in a pond and readily available. They stock fathead minnows and bluegill the first year. After the forage fish have had one breeding season to establish themselves, they stock largemouth bass. If we want to manage a pond for trophy bass, we allow them one or two breeding seasons to establish themselves. At that point, we begin removing everything we catch under 12 inches from the pond and returning everything over 12 inches back into the pond. Because you couldn't catch ALL of the small bass if you tried, you'll always have enough small fish to replace any large ones that you lose.

Biologists here recommend that original stockings should not exceed 300 to 500 bluegill, 100 largemouth bass, and 50 channel catfish per acre of water. No one here stocks crappie in farm ponds they intend to manage for trophy bass. You can't catch the crappie fast enough to keep them from over-populating and adversely affecting the food chain in most ponds.

[jsharp]

Thanks this great info.But is it true if you have MDC stock your ponds or small lake you have to let the public in?

[jjtroutbum]

used to hear one day a year your choice like December 25th lol ....could have been an urban myth tho

[jdmidwest]

If the state of Missouri stocks your pond according to their policies, the fish are still state property and subject to state limits of the species. You control access to the pond and the public has no rights to them. This prevents state fish from being used in a commercial application.

Here is a link to the MDC website.

http://www.mdc.mo.gov/fish/improve.htm

[WildCat Tackle]

This website has some good info- Pondboss

[Kayser]

Old cedar trees seem to be some of the best cover that I have seen, but maybe add some water primrose if there isn't any already. It's some of the best cover that I have seen. I would NOT recommend lily pads, as they will take over all water that is 4ft deep or less.

I would agree with the minnows and bluegill for the first year, then bass the second, but then add some catfish the year after that. The amount of catfish depends on the size of the pond. What you stock and how many are all dependant on what your target species is going to be.

As for general forage, take a bucket of water from any pond or creek and dump it into this pond before you start stocking. Whatever aqautic invertebrates you catch can explode in terms of populations without predators.

Rob

[taxidermist]

There are many fish hatcheries that can help you out. Using them of course you would want to buy their fish.

I have about a 1/2 acre pond, I have about 25 channel catfish, hybred bluegill and fathead minnows.

I contacted a fish hatchery and they explained what fish I should use and why.

My pond dont have much structure, plus being small decaying veg. can cause oxygen depletion. So no brush piles.

The catfish were underfed so I started feeding them and its amazing how fast they will grow, the gills were about 2 inches long and now are up near 4, them being hybreds, means 97% are male so little to no breeding.

This summer the gills should reach a size where they will not be prey for any fish.

According to the man at the hatchery I need to stock 10 lbs of fathead minnows this spring and another 10 lbs in the fall.

Plans are in the fall of 07 to stock some rainbows, I know they will be ok during the winter but come late spring the pond is to shallow and will heat up to much for the trout, but they should provide some fun for my nephews and wife as she learns to use her fly rod.

Yours being spring feed may support trout the year round. Last summer being so dry may have been the determining factor if trout can live year round.

There is a lot of info on the internet.

The big thing is having good O2 content and temp records to help you decided which fish will work in your pond. Predator fish are going to require more area. One reason I dont have bass in my pond, it could support maybe 5 well, but I can trade off bass for the gills and have alot more fun.

Dont stock your pond with sunfish from the local lake or creeks!!! If you do in a few years you will have millions of 2 inch sunfish and nothing else.

Thats another reason I went to the hybreds gills, few or no females.

John