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Pond Stocking... #12236139 05/08/17 04:52 PM
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Capt. Michael Littlejohn Offline OP
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Getting ready to stock a 1 acre pond. Wanted to get some ideas from people who have possibly done this before and their experiences…

Wanting to stock Bass… wondered how many I should stock?

Water is typical East Texas relatively clear tea stained water… Half of the lake is between 8 and 18 foot deep… The other half is less than 10 foot mostly 5–7 foot…

I have access to unlimited live shad on a daily basis


Michael Littlejohn's Full-Time Lake Tawakoni Guide Service
www.tawakoniguideservice.com
Click HERE for Recent CATCH Photos!

Re: Pond Stocking... [Re: Capt. Michael Littlejohn] #12236155 05/08/17 04:59 PM
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PondFish Offline
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Is there any structure or is it just a big bowl?

Re: Pond Stocking... [Re: Capt. Michael Littlejohn] #12236184 05/08/17 05:11 PM
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Capt. Michael Littlejohn Offline OP
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No structure


Michael Littlejohn's Full-Time Lake Tawakoni Guide Service
www.tawakoniguideservice.com
Click HERE for Recent CATCH Photos!

Re: Pond Stocking... [Re: Capt. Michael Littlejohn] #12236208 05/08/17 05:20 PM
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You really need some sort of structure.
When we built our pond we put an old wrecked car (minus the engine, trans and anything toxic) in the deeper part. then had some piles of cinder blocks scattered around.
We started with fingerling bass, channel and blue cats then put in some assorted sunfish. Right after Christmas each year we would sink Christmas trees under the dock.

Re: Pond Stocking... [Re: Capt. Michael Littlejohn] #12236265 05/08/17 05:40 PM
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fouzman Offline
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I'd check with the guys in the ponds, tanks and private waters, first. You'll want to do a water and soil sample of the pond. Then you'll want to stock a diversity of bait fish, not just shad. Bluegills, redears, etc. Don't stock crappie or any other predator species. You want your apex predator (bass) doing all the bait fish eating.

Two words of caution. Do not transport those shad in the boat or water in which they were caught. By law, you're going to need to have them in tap water and a bait tank on your truck, or a source of water other than the lake where you're catching them.

Second word of caution is rough fish. When cast-netting shad, you will invariably capture some unwanted species like carp, gar, buffalo, etc. You don't want these in your pond, so be careful to "screen" your shad carefully.


"Things turn out best for those who make the best of the way things turn out" - Zachary Troy Schrah - a young man with vision far beyond his years.
Re: Pond Stocking... [Re: Capt. Michael Littlejohn] #12236323 05/08/17 06:06 PM
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I have done it professionally. I'll be glad to help. You can PM me.

Re: Pond Stocking... [Re: Capt. Michael Littlejohn] #12236326 05/08/17 06:07 PM
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I've always heard that you wanted to stock your baitfish first as it gives them a headstart. this time of year bream could spawn right away to jumpstart that group. if you put bass then the forage they will potentially eat all of them(forage) before they can reproduce and then the bass would starve.

and yes add stumps/trees/rocks or other sorts of cover!! gives you places to fish and concentrates the fish.

Last edited by bassmanrudy; 05/08/17 06:14 PM. Reason: clarification

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Re: Pond Stocking... [Re: Capt. Michael Littlejohn] #12237010 05/09/17 12:48 AM
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horton5303 Offline
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Definitely a variety of bait fish and structure. Is there anything in it now?


DriftAway Charters Fishing Trips. South Padre Island, Texas. Bay fishing at it's finest! Call 956-505-9500 to book your trip. https://southpadrefishingtrips.com/
Re: Pond Stocking... [Re: Capt. Michael Littlejohn] #12237014 05/09/17 12:52 AM
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An SUV will hold fish. Just joking around.


DriftAway Charters Fishing Trips. South Padre Island, Texas. Bay fishing at it's finest! Call 956-505-9500 to book your trip. https://southpadrefishingtrips.com/
Re: Pond Stocking... [Re: horton5303] #12237101 05/09/17 01:48 AM
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Capt. Michael Littlejohn Offline OP
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Originally Posted By: horton5303
Definitely a variety of bait fish and structure. Is there anything in it now?


Hardly anything...a few 6-10" bass


Michael Littlejohn's Full-Time Lake Tawakoni Guide Service
www.tawakoniguideservice.com
Click HERE for Recent CATCH Photos!

Re: Pond Stocking... [Re: Capt. Michael Littlejohn] #12237463 05/09/17 01:04 PM
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Originally Posted By: Capt. Michael Littlejohn
Getting ready to stock a 1 acre pond. Wanted to get some ideas from people who have possibly done this before and their experiences…

Wanting to stock Bass… wondered how many I should stock?

Water is typical East Texas relatively clear tea stained water… Half of the lake is between 8 and 18 foot deep… The other half is less than 10 foot mostly 5–7 foot…

I have access to unlimited live shad on a daily basis


Water Chemistry? Get that right, first.

Shoreline habitat and watershed? Be sure to have the right types of emergent vegetation for habitat and erosion control. Some trees are good for shade, others suck water out of the pond too quickly, I like bald cypress and the knees it makes, some don't. Might need a windbreak of some sort on one side, I like giant cane (Arundo donax) as it don't send no shoots out in the water, maidenhead cane is native, but I think more invasive with its shoots. Egyptian papyrus (umbrella palm) also makes a real good "wall" to break the wind. Stay away from cattails.

Structure? Well, that's more for the fisherman than the fish, but something for shade and a few ambush points would be good.

Bass? Well, its an opinion and you'll get a lot of 'em 'round here, but I done A LOT of experimentin' over the last 35 or so years and learnt a thing or two....

Only stock FEMALES....an' don't make no mistakes. ONLY FEMALES. So they gotta be big enough to tell one from tuther, and you should get the best stock you can find as long as you can be certain all you get is females.

Maybe ten or twelve, female bass, no more as that will be more than enough to teach you the true meaning of "unlimited shad," if there is any work at all involved in catching and putting them in the pond.

You'll want other species as well, bluegills, redears, and other sunfishes are all good. Especially if you can get some coppernose bluegills and maybe some redbreast sunfish along with some green sunfish, warmouth and longears. But once your bass are starting to grow good, you feeding them shad will be the primary energy input.

You'll need a good diffuser based aerator and you'll want to feed some pellets to your sunfishes.

Don't let nobody talk you into more than TEN catfish, blue or channel. No carp, koi or grass carp (unless truly needed for weeds) you're collection of large female bass will want clear water.

Grow you some sea monsters in there, pets, though with names. "Nessie, Ole Ironjaw, Leadbelly, Chompbucket, an' such.

That'd be the way I'd do it, there's as many ways as there's ponds to do it with. I got folks who only wants to fish for bowfins so I done 'em a grinnel pond to beat the band.

You can cookbook your way through with one of many "Official University Methods," or go with crazy Cousin Pookie's plan to make a million growin' bullfrogs and everyting inbetween.

Good luck and good fun.


Fishbreeder


Re: Pond Stocking... [Re: Capt. Michael Littlejohn] #12238271 05/09/17 08:57 PM
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I have done mine. I highly recommend allowing the water to settle in on a new pond allowing algae to take hold. You must put structure in it. You can go by an local tire shop and get some of their throw away and sing them. Then put bait in like fathead minnows, perch and allow them to establish. If you use one of the fish farms to stock the tank use fingerlings. Just remember that to make a healthy population of bass you need to remove 40 lbs per acre each year.

Re: Pond Stocking... [Re: Capt. Michael Littlejohn] #12245817 05/15/17 10:26 AM
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Here's a tip from my ponds. Don't spray Grazon P+D around them and expect any water vegetation to survive.


Wishin' I was fishin', and dreaming of beer
Re: Pond Stocking... [Re: Capt. Michael Littlejohn] #12245919 05/15/17 12:35 PM
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The best bass pond in east texas I have ever fished in 40 years was about 2 acres (father was a timber buyer, I fished my share of most), no catfish of any kind, full of bream and slap full of hydrilla. Ridiculously good fishing. There was no structure in it, unless you consider the grass structure.

Last edited by Abogue77; 05/15/17 12:39 PM.
Re: Pond Stocking... [Re: Capt. Michael Littlejohn] #12246285 05/15/17 04:13 PM
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Originally Posted By: Capt. Michael Littlejohn


Hardly anything...a few 6-10" bass



Red flags go off when I see that. So much uncertainty when it comes to an existing pond with fish already in it. Very difficult to know how many you already have...and to stock it correctly, its critical to know that.

It becomes a bit of a [censored] shoot with an existing population of bass. Go slow. Concentrate on building your forage base and sampling your existing bass. Use relative weights to help guide your decisions.

I know you are a guide, but you might be surprised to find one or two alpha bass in there that outcompete the others. It is very common in small ponds. The only solution I have found is to build the forage base and continually sample, removing all inferior bass.

I probably would try to find a few, very few, high genetics females to go in. You have one of the best suppliers anywhere near you in Tyler Fish Farms.

The recommended stocking rates from the State are 100 per acre...but IMO, 50 is better when starting out, and much much less if you have an existing population.

In East Texas, there are two kinds of ponds: one that has been limed and one that needs to be limed. Most are in the latter category. Get your water chemistry right first, then build forage, then find some superior genetics females to add...but only small numbers at first.

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