New pond help in east Texas

I live between Tyler and Longview. I have a brand new acre pond. Of course I primarily want it to be good for fishing. That means bass. I have put structure in it and now will wait for rain to fill it. Meanwhile it already has close to 5’ of water in it. I’m open to ideas. What grass to plant around the pond, in the pond? When and what to buy and put in for bait fish. Just any ideas or a good person to contact that could advise me. Thanks. And still open to ideas on more structure.

Download the PDF available at this link: https://extension.msstate.edu/publications/managing-mississippi-farm-ponds-and-small-lakes

https://www.pondboss.com/Home

go catch some perch and crappie, buy a few thousand shiners and go for it.

Hop, I've never found a fisheries advisor who recommended crappie for small waters. They have always said it takes xx acres to be considered, where that's a REALLY big pond/tank. Bluegill and flathead minnows get mentioned the most. I think they worry too many of the shiners will get too big, taking over the biomass of the pond.

I'd load it with perch ASAP so they can establish a spawn this year. You want the forage base already in place before you start dumping in bass who are going to eat everything they can get

And no on crappie for a small fishery they'll eat a ton of small bass and compete for the same forage

ain't no perch in Texas....

There used to be a fish farm near Tyler that sold fat head minnows. You need to get them established and have a place for them to hide to reproduce before introducing any predators.

I watched this several years ago by Ray Scott, very informative. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_37HrayRJrk

My brother owned the place in Tyler. He sold his company two year ago.

To the O.P.: def do NOT put crappie in the lake IF you want a good bass population. DO stock with good sized bluegill. Copper nose blue gill is what I would choose. And fat head minnow as starters. One thing my brother ( a fisheries biologist) always said when I asked him about putting grass in my lake was, "if you had to walk 10 miles every time you wanted a sandwich, how much weight would you lose?" Put in some structure = difference in bottom depth. Drop offs, humps, rock piles, etc. THen put some cover as well. Brush piles, pvc condos, etc. Put your bass in about 8 months after your put in your blue gill. Are you sure about it being one acre? Be careful not to overstock it, and remove small fish as you catch them. One acre of water can only hold x number of pounds of fish. You can grow a few nice ones or a lot of small ones. Good luck!

Thank you to everyone that responded. Does anyone know a good person to contact in the Longview/Tyler area? For guidance or to get the blue gill and minnows that have been mentioned.

try your local feed store, they usually have fish trucks pretty often.

Call Bob Waldrop at Tyler Fish Farms. He's a really good guy. He will give good advise and has baitfish and game-fish.
https://tylerfishfarm.com/

Yes! Outstanding people who'll really help with your initial stocking.

Abney pond and lake stocking out of Arkansas has trucks that make deliveries to many east tx. towns. You can call and check if they come to your area. You can place your order by phone or wait till the truck arrives. Their number is 870-697-3550 or you go to their web site. Their bass are not of a Florida strain. Overton fisheries out of Buffalo Tx. has the pure Florida strain bass. Their number is 940-531-2476. Check out their web site. You can never have too much brush in a pond.
Good luck and good fishing.

Ordering off the Oklahoma and Arkansas Fish trucks can be a dicey proposition. I would order from a Overtons, Tyler Fish Farm or Pond King in Gainsville. 99% of folks cant tell the difference between 500 bludgill or 1000 bluegill, that is why you want to order from a reputable supplier.

Thank you