stocking a lake, part 2

[weezymagic]

id like to start this by telling you all that i have not discussed this with anyone yet and plan to. but this is my thinking thus far.

my grandparents have a farm with two lakes. i believe they are roughly 1 acre or something (thats an out of the blue guess. i really dont know. havent been there in two years. its maybe 100ft by 150ft). i plan on (this spring/summer) stocking it with bluegill, channel cat, and lmb. all babies (i think you guys call them fingerlings). i may even throw a few bigens in there. i will fish a bit this year (for the big ones). next year, the population and their sizes will grow enough to fish more frequently. im going to stock them privately because although it costs a bit extra, itll go faster than the mdc stocking it.

what do you guys think?

[Culln5]

Good luck! I wish I had a private pond. Anyway, I've heard that this series is one of the best out there. You could probably find it somewhere cheaper.

http://www.rayscott.net/sales/gsw.php

[aikenyounggun]

yeah i know guys that keep the bass they catch in the livewell and transport them ... it works .... trust me

[jcw1503]

it does work, but i would just stock it up this year with bluegills and other bait fish because you need to have a very big bait fish population if you want your fish to stay alive in the pond...take this from someone with experience in this, spend the first year stocking it with baitfish and then put the LMB and catfish in there...

[mont_lunker_hunter]

If you put the largemouth in as fingerlings then you can also stock baitfish at the same time. Any predator fish will have to be stocked after your baitfish or preferred species (in this case largemouth) has had time to establish a breeding population or is large enough to not be eaten. Otherwise, you're catfish are going be really healthy!!! Also, add some sort of cover and an automatic feeder.

[bamabassman]

bluegill FIRST!!!!!!

[Bassboss]

Originally Posted by aikenyounggun

yeah i know guys that keep the bass they catch in the livewell and transport them ... it works .... trust me

I advise testing them for sicknesses first, one thing that you would not want to do is put sick fish in a new pond.

I also would not add channel cats, I'd go with something like bull heads.

Also if your putt babies in, don't add "bigguns" Add one no more than 1lb. Just so they don't eat the little ones.

An other thing I would advise is to first add minnows, get a couple (like 30) 5 gallon buckets and fill them up with minnows. You can get them by going to another pond and getting them with a scoop net.

The one thing I can not stress enough is to not over stock the pond!!

Hope this helps,

[Bassboss]

Originally Posted by bamabassman

bluegill FIRST!!!!!!

Yes add the bait first, than add the smallest bass, than the bigger ones, than whatever kind of cats you pick (I say bull heads).

Make sure the bait has some time to get used to the pond first. Add everything in gradually, I would say a few every month.

The one thing I can not stress enough is to not over stock the pond!!

[weezymagic]

ok. new plan.
april - add 200ish bluegill
june - add 50ish SMALL lmb
july - add 10ish lmb
next year - add some small(?) catfish [why bull over channel?]

does that sound better. what would you do? a short but detailed answer. id prefer not to wait too long before i can fish it but would rather have quality over not quality. lol

[MississippiBoy]

The food supply definitely needs a chance to establish itself before you introduce the predators. Otherwise, all the baitfish will be eaten or die on their own, then the bass have nothing to feed on, so they either stay small or die off to a point where the lake can sustain them.

Found this:

http://www.mdwfp.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2416

It's meant for Mississippi specifically, but it may help you.

[weezymagic]

how long should i wait between stocking bream(?) and lmb.

when i do stock lmb, what should i stock? small, medium, big? id like to fish sooner rather than later. can i do a combo of small and big as long as the bream have had sufficient time to grow?

[MississippiBoy]

Well, if you'll read the first paragraph of the article I posted for your benefit *ahem* you'll see that question addressed:

Originally Posted by MS Dept of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks

The Miss. Dept. of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks recommends stocking bream (bluegill, coppernose bluegill, redear or shellcracker)and catfish in the fall (October - December) followed by largemouth bass the following spring or early summer (May-June). This sequence allows the bream to grow to a size that some will spawn that first summer providing a fish prey for the bass.

[weezymagic]

wow, i definitely missed that part, sry. so about 8 months apart should be good.

what about the second part though

[Bubba_Bruiser]

Originally Posted by weezymagic

ok. new plan.
april - add 200ish bluegill
june - add 50ish SMALL lmb
july - add 10ish lmb
next year - add some small(?) catfish [why bull over channel?]

does that sound better. what would you do? a short but detailed answer. id prefer not to wait too long before i can fish it but would rather have quality over not quality. lol

Weezy, nothing worth having hardly happens overnight. I know it's tough, but it will take some time to get the quality I know you want. Just my .02.

[weezymagic]

new plan is april or may - stock bream
next april - stock lmb

my question is do i stock ONLY small lmb or can i do larger lmb too.

[Bassboss]

Originally Posted by weezymagic

ok. new plan.
april - add 200ish bluegill
june - add 50ish SMALL lmb
july - add 10ish lmb
next year - add some small(?) catfish [why bull over channel?]

does that sound better. what would you do? a short but detailed answer. id prefer not to wait too long before i can fish it but would rather have quality over not quality. lol

Sounds good!

The reason I say bull heads is because the are much smaller than channels. They would also eat less, and smaller fish.

That's why.

Are you gonna add minnows?

[Bassboss]

Originally Posted by weezymagic

how long should i wait between stocking bream(?) and lmb.

when i do stock lmb, what should i stock? small, medium, big? id like to fish sooner rather than later. can i do a combo of small and big as long as the bream have had sufficient time to grow?

Small and medium. Try to stay under 3.5lbs. Just so they don't eat all the small bass.

[weezymagic]

Originally Posted by Bassboss

Sounds good!

The reason I say bull heads is because the are much smaller than channels. They would also eat less, and smaller fish.

That's why.

Are you gonna add minnows?

idk, should i?
im completely new at this. what are the pros and cons of minnows? what do bluegill eat btw?