I envy you that 7 inches. We got about 1.5 inches of slow rain which was of no use when it comes to water hole filling.

About 2 months ago I got 6 inches. Of course, it took 3 days on bone dry soil and I got about a 10 inch rise in the ponds. Then it wicked back into the banks and things are about where they were.

However, everything greened up beautifully.

We got a lot of rain recently! Three of my ponds are about a foot from being full and the fourth which was the one that we dug down around 13' likes about 3' from being full. Lots of water!

The fish wagon is hitting the local feed store on the 20th. I am planning on buying and stocking my fathead minnows and coppernoce bluegill. My ponds sizes and what amount Im stocking

1/2 acre- This one did not get dug out as it kept water in it. AVG depth 7'. It already has a large amount of large channel catfish in it. I will be doing a corrective stocking of 5-lbs of fathead minnows and 200 cn BG in this one. I have been feeding on this pond.

The other three were all dug out.

1/3 acre- avg depth 10'- stocking 2.5 lbs FH minnow and 180 cn bg.(future bass pond)

1/4 acre- avg depth 10'- stocking 2.5 lbs fh minnows and 120 cnbg
(future bass pond)

1/4 acre - avg depth 13'- stocking 2.5lbs fh minnows and 120 cnbg.



I will not stock predator fish until next spring. Im not in a hurry so if it helps, I have no problem waiting. I still dont know what Im going to stock in the 4th pond as far as predators.


As for fertilizing the water, I havent heard of this, so need to look into it. Im guessing I need to have water samples tested somewhere to find out what the water needs? And then broadcast what its lacking into the water? I will not be using and aereation in my ponds, and right now, they all look real muddy due to the runoff over the freshly dug ground. I know this will eventually settle.

Be very careful about fertilizers, very careful. You can easily do more harm than good. Before even considering fertilizer, get your water tested. Just about every pond in East Texas needs the addition of agricultural lime. In my area, I need about 4 tons per acre of lime every 5 years or so. Water test will show what you need and a soil test will show you how much. On the soil test tell them its for a pond and raising fish and they will tell you a recommended amount of lime.

Ideally, the lime would be added before the pond begins filling because it is so much easier to apply that way...but after filling can be done. I prefer to use the big spreader trucks and have them back up to several spots around the pond and cut it loose. Be sure to especially hit the areas that feed water into the pond. Its the easiest, most economical, most effective method I've found...but you can also hire it done with a boat and crew and pay a small fortune.

Ag. lime works wonders in our East Texas ponds.

Have you experienced some devasting issues with fertilizer or just recommending to be careful? I agree with you, it is only a tool that will work for some lakes. With out the right alkalinity your wasting your money trying to keep a bloom. Too much can cause a crash. Applied incorrectly, it can cause a vegetation explosion. However, used correctly, it can be a benefit to many with huge dividends for little cost. I was just curious to know if you have had some negative results?

Steve, I bought into the fertilizer story many years ago and really didn't know that I didn't need it.

At first, everything was great. I had greenish water, fish were everywhere and the catching(like in all new ponds) was good. I thought I was a genius. Then I got about 2 days of no sun and no wind. The bigger fish went first followed by everything but fingerlings and fatheads that could get in really skinny water.

I stocked what I still think was correct. I can't definitely prove that it was overly fertile but have never fertilized again and never had another crash.

I have a forage pond of about 1/10 acre. I generally keep bluegills, coppernose and green sunfish in it. I seine it periodically and add the forage to other ponds. If I don't seine it the fish overspawn and their droppings create a green mess. In other words, overly fertile water. The crash is never far behind.

So far we have not had a crash on a fertilized lake. Have fertilized about 30 lakes over the past 2 years. We try to allow them to clear past 24 inches in August and beyond. Try to keep that water 15-24 inches in some lakes from mid April through July. I'm sure there maybe a crash at some point on a lake. Well never know for sure if it was over fertile water. We have had two crashes in the same 40 acre lake both in 2006 and 2008 with no fertilizer. It happens.

Steve,

I only post recommendations based on my personal hands-on experience.....and yes, I would consider my experience with artificial fertilizer devastating.

I asked some national experts(some of which were from Texas) for advise on controling pond weed. This was many years ago. The advise I got said to fertilize the pond. By fertilizing, it would cause plant growth which would block out the sunlight which in turn would kill the vegetation. I admit I should have known better...and you would be surprised at the names of those who recommended this approach. Not many people recommend you throw gasoline on a fire to control it....and adding fertilizer to an existing weed growth had that very effect with devastating results.

Several years and several grass carp and Tilapia later, the pond recovered....but I never listened to national experts again.

My ponds are green from early spring through the season and Never, ever do I use artificial fertilizer. I also do not have any pond weed problems since that ill fated advise. .

fertilizing is a good practice when done properly. But as you pointed out you can't fertilize a pond that already has rooted vegetation growth.
The idea with fertilizing is to promote the growth of phytoplankton. Like you said the green water is the objective, it will block sunlight and also strengthen the base of the food chain.
And I agree with you that the information available in the past was terrible. I've seen people advise using swim platforms and spreading fertilizer over the top so that it washed off during rains. Another big mistake that people make is in the application of fertilizer. Phytoplankton will only grow in the upper 2-4' of the water column, so this is where your fertilizer has to be applied, otherwise you will end-up with an over growth of macrophytes and that defeats the purpose of fertilizing. So I agree with you in part because anybody who recommends fertilizer should take the time to explain all the variables and risks involved with fertilizing. And the academic type have usually only read about such practices. I've even talked to customers who claim that management companies dumped fertilizers right off the end of their pier, that's a big no-no, when that fertilizer sinks to the bottom the only thing it's going to grow are rooted plants or filamentous algae, again that defeats the purpose.
The long and short of it is that a fertilization program can be very beneficial when done properly. But it's so seldom done properly that I will very seldom recommend that someone start fertilizing.Furthermore I wouldn't attempt starting a fertilization program for one of my customers that I only visit monthly, fertilization is simply too involving to be managed with so little time.
That's just my opinion.

Well, Ive read enough about that, fertilizing is NOT for me. I have four small farm ponds I am dealing with, the largest being a half acre and the other three 1/4-1/3 of an acre. I just dug three of them out and have good clay. Im starting ffrom a clean slate right now, no vegetation or anything. The water in my three freshly dug out ponds is very muddy right now due to the runoff over the fresh clay. I know it should eventually settle.
I will be picking up my stockings of bait fish on the 20th of this month. I am not in a hurry so I can give them time and nature its time to get the pond ready for stocking predator fish.

Im not up for super intensive management other than trying to stock it right and give it the time it needs. If there is something I should throw in, Id do that but Im just not organized enough or have the proclivity to do something like what it looks like fertilization entails.

One thing I feel Im missing is bullfrogs. When I lived near Lake fork(about 15 miles away, I had tons of large frogs in my pond. Big bass as well. But over here, I hardly ever see ANY frogs. I miss the lightly frog serenade, lol.

If you manage your lakes correctly fertilizing won't hurt. Done it for over ten years on lakes from 1.5 to 85 acres. I always try to keep our visibility at about 18".

Also Nathan to be honest with you it is going to be hard to do much with ponds as small as you are talking. To get fish numbers down where they need to be you aren't going to have many in each pond. It's hard to do much with bass in small ponds and have much to fish. Small ponds like you are talking you would be better off getting fish food bass or catfish. Just my honest opinion.

I'm not trying to get you down just trying to say what folks are doing with larger lakes will be hard to do with small ponds.

love me some pond talk!

Well, I stocked them today. Heres what I did. Good lord fish are expensive.

pond 1(exisiting pond,corrective stock) 1/2 acre large catfish pond
250- cnbg
3 lbs FH minnows

pond 2- new pond- initial stocking, 1/4 acre
100- cnbg
2 lbs fh minnows

pond 3- new pond, 1/4 acre- 12 ft deep
150 cnbg
2 lbs fh minnows

pond 4-new pond 1/3 acre
200- cnbg
2 lbs fh minnows

Nathan,

Fish are expensive!

Did you stock 1-2" CNB or larger?

Did you consider stocking any RES?

Before I give an opinion, it would help to know the size of Bluegill you stocked.

I stocked the 1-2" cnbg. I am going to wait until next spring to stock predator fish, so the smaller size will have plenty of time. No reason to spend the extra money on the larger ones.

I do plan to stock some RES in around march-april. Planned on doing around 10% of cnbg numbers for those.