buffett1 Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 Our family is in the process of building/finishing a 1 acre pond. With no rain last summer it is taking some time to fill. I am curious when we should begin stocking the thing. I know we want bluegill and bass, and then there needs to be the baitfish for them too. The lake is in southern Indiana and I believe it needs about another four feet of water to be at the arranged water level. When can fish go in? What order do they need to go? And should we buy the fish or do a combo of bought and caught? I guess I would also like to know if we should be planting any type of aquatic vegitation around the edges before the thing is full. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will_in_cky25 Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 i don't know what level your pond has to be before you can stack but i can give you an idea about stockin. our property already had a pond on it so my experiance was alittle tougher than yours will be, but i actually got the kdfw to help me actually restock my pond becase whoever owned it before let it go to crap, and it took alot of work to get ti squared away (proper Ph levels, alge levels in an acceptable range cause to much alge will kill the frys) anyway after all that mess then then they actually gave me the fish (no joke they gave me the fish) i can't remember the exact numbers but it was like 200 bluegills, bass, and channel cats. 150 crappie 100 blue and shovelhead catfish and 50 carp. that was year one and for three summers i'd call them and we would meet up and they had a set number of fish for those years and let me tell you after five years of good fish managment i got an awsome place to fish and really was almost free but for the work we put into claring out the pond which is roughly 1.5/2 acres. If you want a quality fishing hole start from scratch cause you'll have better fish numbers across the board insted of having all the fish caught and released in your pond eating all your frys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogdoc Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 In Oklahoma you can get your fish from the state for FREE if you have a current fishing license---great deal. You might check with you state wildlife agency and see if they have the same deal. Here we stock blue gill and catfish in the fall and the bass were stocked in the spring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 You might get fish without stocking. My neighbor dug a real small pond, basically just to run tiles into from his field. One day while dove hunting, I tossed a grasshopper in, and it was immediately eaten. Later I asked my neighbor if my kids could fish it and he said "there's no fish in there." I told him there was, but he said "I never stocked it..." I don't know how the fish got in there, but they did. I've read some stories where ducks can bring in eggs that get stuck on their plummage, but other than that, I don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogdoc Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 Check out this website---it helped me out a bunch when I was building and stocking my pond: http://ohioline.osu.edu/b374/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 I don't know how the fish got in there, but they did. I've read some stories where ducks can bring in eggs that get stuck on their plummage, but other than that, I don't know. Have always heard this too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gitcha_some Posted February 16, 2008 Report Share Posted February 16, 2008 My uncle had a big pond put in a couple of years ago and after one rainstorm i swear to god there were fish swimming around in a little puddle about 3 ft deep in the base of the pond, we have no clue how they do it but i swear fish just appear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardwood_HD Posted February 17, 2008 Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 You might get fish without stocking. My neighbor dug a real small pond, basically just to run tiles into from his field. One day while dove hunting, I tossed a grasshopper in, and it was immediately eaten. Later I asked my neighbor if my kids could fish it and he said "there's no fish in there." I told him there was, but he said "I never stocked it..." I don't know how the fish got in there, but they did. I've read some stories where ducks can bring in eggs that get stuck on their plummage, but other than that, I don't know. thats interesting i havent heard that before Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WY Hunter Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 I have seen fish swim up some unbelivably small ditches during a spring storm, When you get a heavy rain they come out of creeks and ponds and go up small trickles of water I guess looking for new territory. This in my opinion is a very bad thing, I have seen ponds ruined because undesirable fish such as carp, bullheads, and green sunfish have migrated into a pond and overpopulated. They use up the available food and become stunted. Start from scratch and stock with fish that are recomended for your area and for pond stocking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.