Ever thought about not leaving home for a fresh fish dinner? That meal
swims in your pond when it is properly managed and stocked.
A healthy pond is stocked with a specific ratio of fish, added in a
planned sequence. The mix of fish and the sequence in which they are
added varies from north to south. It is determined by seasonal changes
in water temperature, whether the pond freezes in winter or not, and
whether or not you fertilize. Here' s a general stocking plan. But we
strongly recommend that you work with your Extension Service, Department
of Natural Resources or private aquatics biologist to write a successful
stocking plan tailored to your area.
In warmer climates you can stock bluegill 1,000 to the acre in
fertilized ponds; use half of that in ponds that are not fertilized. If
you' re stocking redear sunfish, you want to put in 80 bluegill for every
20 redear. Remember, redear alone are not productive enough to feed
hungry bass. Bluegill and redear fingerlings� �� �� 2 to 3 inches long� �� ��will be
the first additions to your pond. Stock them between October and
February in warmer regions. Stocking times differ in the North.
Fathead minnows can be added with bream. Minnows are an initial food
source for larger fish.
Add bass fingerlings to the mix later, generally in spring and early
summer. In warmer regions you can add 100 bass per acre in fertilized
ponds; add half of that in ponds that are not fertilized. If adequate
food is available, 2-inch bass fingerlings mature quickly and can grow
as much as 12 inches in the first year. Without the bass, bream will
overpopulate the pond.
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In the right environment, channel catfish can be a part of the species
mix. A caution here: Other varieties of catfish can be unwelcome
predators that will destroy your stocking ratios.
Even channel catfish are turning out to be more of a predator than once
thought. But catfish fingerlings, stocked at less than 100 to the acre,
should not cause a problem. If you' re putting catfish into an existing
bass population, the catfish should be at least 8 to 10 inches long or
the adult bass will feast on them.
Once your pond is stocked, fishing (and lots of it) is critical in your
pond-management efforts. Well-managed ponds in warmer climates produce
bass that need to be removed one year after they are released into your
pond because of their size.
In these areas you' ll need to take 25 to 30 pounds of bass per acre
from
you pond each year. That' s 100 to 120 pounds of bass in a correctly
managed 4-acre pond. We' d suggest you invite the neighborhood kids
over
for an occasional fishing derby, especially since you need to take 125
to 150 pounds of bream per acre out of your pond annually, too. Once
again, removal rates vary according to climate.
One more management tip: Don' t take more than 25% of your annual
harvest
targets during any one month. If you take more than that, you disrupt
those hard-earned stocking ratios.
Remember that one of the biggest problems with ponds is that they are
underfished for bream and overfished for bass. If too many bass are
removed, your pond won' t be able to contain bream populations.