OK guys I have a fish ?? I am making access to a Approx 1 acre pond in the middle of the woods It seems to be about 6"-6' deep it doesnt really seem to have any fish in it... its a fresh water pond fed from the bottom... I'm thinking of stocking it, I want Catfish I really would like some rainbow trout, I'm not sure it stays cold enough ? what would be the best way to go about stocking a pond that can sustain itself ??? How many would be best to start with ?? I wood like to have this pond fishable in 2-5 yrs...
You best source of information is an AGFC Fish Bioligist.There was some basic info available on AGFC website in years past..........may still be there.
IF it isn't any more than 6 ft. deep, then the odds of it being cold enough to sustain trout is about nil. Catifish might do ok with sufficient forrage. Might throw in a few bream as well....
Trout woud never make it. Catfish, bream, and bass. The catfish will grow in a hurry if you feed them. May want to dump in a bunch of minnows when the bream and bass get a little size on them.
Thanks ,I did some reading last night on the AGFC website and re calulated the pond size... I think it more like 3/4 - 1 acre I'm going to have the water tested for ph then I'm thinking of stocking 75 8"-14" channel cat and 3 grass then maybe a year later if things look good then add like 20 black bass and 100 perch.. or something like that .... I'm not going to be able to feed food the pond, it is on what we call the lost 40---till now. But the farm and pond are 45 min away for me right now so plus the feed and fuel cost it is really not optional to feed ...
Feeding might not be so difficult - even if not quite as consistent as ideal - a large barrel deer feeder might could be used... Some sort of deflector plate on one side of the spinner to angle all the feed one direction... Fill that dude up (I think you could get a 55 gallon drum) and set it to feed once per day. Would this not be feasible?
I had thought about that and I already have 2 feeders 1 a 55 gal drum that hangs from a cable ... But once I start feeding wouldnt I have to keep feeding .. and how much a day ?? If I could get away with a couple of pounds a day that would'nt be too bad ... That would last a month... Too bad I cant feed the Deer and Fish the same food then I could hang it on the levee and let it rip in the water and ground :biggrin: I'll have to do more reading on feeding and what the cost would be for a month...
A pound or two of feed per day should be plenty. You'd be missing out on the fun though, watching them feed is a blast.
A couple pounds a day supplemental feeding is a lot better than none in most ponds. Catfish and bream will eat the feed but bass will not. Overfeeding can create serious water quality problems. I have feeder on a tripod in the pond. ( bears will tear up any feeders on the ground in my neighborhood) The feeder feeds everyday at noon. I started with about a pound a day then worked up. My target was to feed all the fish would cleanup in 10 minutes. The maximum my feeder will throw at on time is about 6 pounds. I worked up to that in about two months. In the fall I cut back gradually as the fish eat less in cooler water temps. About mid march I start increasing feed rates again. Catfish and bream will grow very quickly if you provide them enough feed. Remember too much feed can really ruin water quality and your fish will not do well at all.
The more I have read the more I think I'm going to just make it a Catfish pond with some large minnows and Bluegill and Redear ... 100 channel cats 100 Bluegills/Redear and 10# of Minnows and 5 grass carp ... I was reading thay have a route truck I can meet and then stock it myself for about $ 150 -$200 if I stock all fingerlings I think.....Now wont the minnows and Perch be enough food for the cats ?? Google is cool I figured out that I actuall only have about a 1/2 of pond at probably avg depth of 3-4 I'll figure this closer when I can actually get my flatbottom to it :biggrin:
We have fish trucks come to Harrison starting in late March. Check with a local Farmers Co-op or Farm Supply to get a schedule. With no serious predators like bass your minnows and bream in good water should supply "enough" feed for your catfish. Supplemental feeding is not necessary in properly stocked and managed quality water ponds. But, I have found I can do in one year what takes "nature" three years. Supplemental feeding will put weight on fish fast. I usally get fish from www.farleysfishfarm.com and they have stocking rates info on the site plus other info.
Can you just feed a year and get theM bigger or would you then need to continue to feed ? Have you been able to get your cats to spawn in your pond..The pond I intend to do this too is very clear it is fed by a spring but it is very slow maybe a 1 /2 gal a min ... I'be never seen less than a trickle going over the overflow..but unless it rains not much more than that.... I havent seen any type of fish in this pond since I was a kid 20+ yrs ago and it has been an abandon pond till now.. My dad saw it for the first time yesterday He was impressed and He's not a hunter or fisherman But he has own the land for 5-10 yrs now, it was the first time he had even been on it since he bought it lol... I happen to know it very well from hunting and scouting...We're reopening the road to it about a 1/4 mi we got about 200yds done yesterday... Hes making a 2 lane road so he can bushog it :biggrin: Guess I wont have to worry about it growing back over again :thumb: So I'm hoping to test the ph soon to see if I will need to lime it first, Then I'll how many and what sizes to stock for sure I'd kinda like to put a few bigger 1s in there but boy the price sure jumps quick :biggrin:
I have never seen any indication of catfish reproduction in my ponds. I sunk a lot of hollow logs in the pond in hopes of catfish reproduction. The cats may be reproducing but I have some bass in the pond so they may be getting all of them before I see them. Feeding for a year will increase fish size but most likely the fish will lose weight if you stop feeding
