Pond Stocking

Two years ago I stocked a 1 acre pond with copper nose perch. The sales rep said that for that size of water a good start would be around 150 so that is what I went with. It all ready had minnows in it so I was not worried about feeding the perch. Then last year I added catfish to the mix but only put in 100 fingerlings.

My delima is that I can not catch any of the copper nose perch in this pond and the catfish are still to small to keep unless I pan fry them whole. I have tried using artificial for them since the catfish keep taking worms and not giving the perch even time to find them with no luck. I am just starting to think I may need to restock the perch being I can not catch a single one in this pond. Anyone ever have this issue.

Thanks

How to stock a pond is determined by your goals, wanting a bass, cat,fish, or combination pond will determine how you should stock your pond. In general the BG has a higher initial stocking rate per acre--1000, but then your predator fish is significantly lower.

The above comment is for fingerlings, you can stock at different sizes based on your goals timeline.

What size of CNBG did you stock? If you would like to talk more send me a message and I would be glad to talk.

Is the water clear enough where you can see the perch in the water?

Is the pond also stocked with other fish such as bass?

I'm wondering if they died off for some reason or if the pond is overstocked with adult fish like bass that may have gobbled them up when they were small. I would think after two years and a couple of spawns you should be loaded with them. Unlike other fish Copper Nose Blue Gill will spawn multiple times if they are in the right environment.

I also stocked my pond with them about 2 years ago. My pond came dangerously close to going dry and some of them still survived. I don't have many left but they are still there. They are up to about the length of my hand 6-7". And I see several smaller ones so that tells me I've had a successful spawn. My water is clear and I can see them all around the banks. I caught a couple the other day on a small beetle spin.

Usually the issue is too many. Is there any chance that the pond had bass (even just one) and/or larger catfish in it when you stocked the copper nose? Or other predator?

I normally like to stock a pond that size with about 1000 blue gills rather than 150. One single bass could easily eliminate those 150 original stockers before they ever spawned.


Story: I once had a small pond that dried up and when it filled back up I stocked it with hybrid striped bass fingerlings just for fun. Later I drained the pond to rework it...and guess what? not a single hybrid striped bass, not one...but one very fat, very happy largemouth bass. Nature finds a way.

My pond is about 1-1/2 acre. It has a slow leak and every year in late summer and fall it gets very low. There is a ridge across the middle that when it gets low it creates basically two separate ponds. The bass in my pond grow big. Every year when it gets low and the stress is on they don't have to work too hard for food. The blue gill do their reproduction thing and restock themselves every year. And the bass feed on them when it gets low. The bass also feed on the other smaller fish including bass. My pond has brush and grass which is an important component of the forage fish surviving. But somehow every year when the water gets low and the cover is on dry land the bass only seem to eat what they need. If they didn't I wouldn't have any blue gill left. Every year the perch and blue gill restock themselves. Meadowlark is right. Nature has it's way of taking care of itself.

You might think about sinking some brush to give them some cover if you haven't already done that. They need places to hide and escape the predator fish.

ToPond - The CPNP were about two to three inches when I stocked them but my goals are to have perch that my nieces and nephews can come catch anytime to keep them interested in the outdoors. Now that I have two little ones I am glad that I have the pond stocked just wanting to make sure the quick bite of perch are there so that they keep interested. Oh and the catfish are a hybrid blue cat that are now on average 9".

newpontoonguy - No the water is not clear enough to see them in the water. It is also used to water cattle which I am told is a bad deal for a pond but the cattle help me keep the place so they get to go swimming when they want and keep the water stirred up. If not the cows the winds that the pond receives most of the time after 10am keeps it churned up pretty well also. I have never put Bass in the pond and have never caught a bass out of this pond since it dried up a few years back during the drought. That not to say that they are not there with all the Blue Herons that visit the neighbors ponds and then visit mine.


Meadowlark - I do not think there were any bass or other predatory fish in the pond after it dried up a few years back but I do not put anything past Nature. I did wait about six months after it caught water to put the perch in it so maybe a or some predatory fish egg got transplanted by the local Blue Heron population. If that is the case then I probably do have a nice fat fish rolling around in there. I am also learning that 150 is the wrong number to have used to stock the pond. May have to add some more full size mature perch.

newpontoonguy - Thinking about sinking a few trees in it. To give them a little more cover.

One thing that I forgot. I am located just south of I-10 and North of Hallettsville. The pond was rebuilt back in 2008 then dried up again in 2012. Since then I have only stocked it with the copper nose bluegill and hybrid blue cats all from a local fish hatchery located outside of Hallettsville. My goal for the pond is to get my nieces and nephews involved in fishing and now my children. Mainly looking for a quick bite and the occasional lazy afternoon of cat-fishing.

Thanks for the help

John

Supplemental feeding your BG will increase their size and the catfish. It will also take the pressure off the BG from the catfish eating them as dinner and allow for larger BG.

I would stock some larger BG depending on what your hatchery has available, but most should have larger or jumbos to pick form. Also suggest taking water sample and sending it to A & M for testing. This will help yo with knowing your water chemistry and see if theres something you need to address.

all good advise, visit pond boss. a feeder will help a lot , just have to keep the cows from knocking it over. 100 cats will eat a lot of food and convert fish food well. if you had nopredators the 150 copper nose should be everywhere.

that pond should be crawling with bluegill...

If the weather ever lets up I plan on putting perch traps out to see what's there may not be to accurate but will give me an idea.

You need about 300 blue gill per acre. They can reproduce 2 or 3 times a year.