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What kind of baitfish to put in a 1 acre pond

Posted By: N. D. L.

What kind of baitfish to put in a 1 acre pond - 04/04/23 06:23 PM

i have a pond with a couple sunfish and 15 small bass, i want them to get big. what would be the best forage for them?
Posted By: bronco71

Re: What kind of baitfish to put in a 1 acre pond - 04/05/23 12:21 AM

Tilapia
Posted By: Outdoordude

Re: What kind of baitfish to put in a 1 acre pond - 04/05/23 03:24 PM

By a couple sunfish, do you mean the population of sunfish is a couple or you have a couple species of sunfish?

Generally a combination of bluegill (at least 25:1 ratio of BG:LMB by number) and tilapia (50-100 lbs/acre) work well in Texas. Add at least daily feeding from an automatic feeder and your bluegill and tilapia production can easily double, which increases forage abundance and condition for your bass to eat. Harvest any bass that are less than at least 95% relative weight by two years post-stocking (https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/fish-water/fish-relative-weight-calculator/). Keep the bass population low by harvesting under-performers and you'll have giants in a few years (assuming the pond has good water chemistry and about 30% of its area occupied by some type of cover/habitat).
Posted By: Dave Davidson

Re: What kind of baitfish to put in a 1 acre pond - 04/06/23 08:39 PM

Start with about ten pounds of Fathead minnows. After a short while, add about 500 3 inch bluegills.

To really do it right, get rid of unknowns, rotenone and start over.
Posted By: N. D. L.

Re: What kind of baitfish to put in a 1 acre pond - 04/14/23 06:26 PM

It has like 3 or 4 medium sunfish total
Posted By: pop r

Re: What kind of baitfish to put in a 1 acre pond - 05/02/23 07:38 PM

Fathead minnows they reproduce several times a year.
Posted By: Dave Davidson

Re: What kind of baitfish to put in a 1 acre pond - 05/15/23 04:32 PM

NDL, what size is the pond?
Posted By: BrandoA

Re: What kind of baitfish to put in a 1 acre pond - 05/15/23 04:39 PM

Originally Posted by Dave Davidson
Start with about ten pounds of Fathead minnows. After a short while, add about 500 3 inch bluegills.

To really do it right, get rid of unknowns, rotenone and start over.


This right here
Posted By: Meadowlark

Re: What kind of baitfish to put in a 1 acre pond - 05/17/23 03:17 AM

My take: forget the fathead minnows. With 15 bass they will be gone before they even think about spawning. Instead add 10 pounds of Tilapia followed a month later by 500 3 inch bluegills. The Tilapia will begin spawning right away and take predation pressure off the bluegills. They wlll also keep your pond algae free and that is no small benefit.
Posted By: banker-always fishing

Re: What kind of baitfish to put in a 1 acre pond - 05/22/23 01:39 PM

Originally Posted by Meadowlark
My take: forget the fathead minnows. With 15 bass they will be gone before they even think about spawning. Instead add 10 pounds of Tilapia followed a month later by 500 3 inch bluegills. The Tilapia will begin spawning right away and take predation pressure off the bluegills. They wlll also keep your pond algae free and that is no small benefit.




Plus #1. This guy knows pond management! thumb
Posted By: MVPhere

Re: What kind of baitfish to put in a 1 acre pond - 06/07/23 07:20 PM

Good afternoon, where to purchase live tilapia?? I have a pond near Kemp that could use some. The last places I bought them from are closed.
Thank you
Posted By: Dan90210 ☮

Re: What kind of baitfish to put in a 1 acre pond - 06/08/23 01:12 PM

Originally Posted by N. D. L.
It has like 3 or 4 medium sunfish total


Did this dude say his 1 acre pond as 3 or perhaps 4 bluegill and 15 bass?

What is going on here?
Posted By: bassfishinglawyer

Re: What kind of baitfish to put in a 1 acre pond - 06/21/23 03:52 PM

I have a 4-acre pond. I put in tilapia once, but they died during the winter so I have a huge population of bluegill (feeder goes off for them and has made a big big difference in numbers and size). I also put shad in every couple of years. And I put some crawfish in a couple of years ago and they have done pretty well. But the bluegill gives them plenty of forage.
Posted By: bronco71

Re: What kind of baitfish to put in a 1 acre pond - 06/21/23 04:21 PM

Originally Posted by MVPhere
Good afternoon, where to purchase live tilapia?? I have a pond near Kemp that could use some. The last places I bought them from are closed.
Thank you

pond stocking
Posted By: MVPhere

Re: What kind of baitfish to put in a 1 acre pond - 07/11/23 09:53 PM

Thanks, Bronco!!
Posted By: bloo_rainger

Re: What kind of baitfish to put in a 1 acre pond - 08/06/23 03:24 PM

Originally Posted by Dan90210 ☮
Originally Posted by N. D. L.
It has like 3 or 4 medium sunfish total


Did this dude say his 1 acre pond as 3 or perhaps 4 bluegill and 15 bass?

What is going on here?


Kinda like starting with Adam and Eve.

roflmao
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