What's the best yield fish to stock a 1/2 acre pond with? Other than Talapia.

[Just Duke]

What's the best yield fish to stock a 1/2 acre pond with? Other than Talapia.
TIA,
Duke

[John Allen]

Duke, depending on the temp at the bottom of the pond you could try some trout but they like cold water.

[Just Duke]

Duke, depending on the temp at the bottom of the pond you could try some trout but they like cold water.

This would be in the warmer southern states and thanks for your reply.

[carbine86]

Pumpkin seed panfish and smallmouth bass two beautiful fish

[jonp]

I'd say Catfish. Trout take too long to grow and you must have well aerated cold water where the catfish will live in about any temp water within reason.

What do you mean by yield? Are you farming them for food?

[John Allen]

We have a 1/2 acre pond on our property. Sunfish and small mouth are great for warm waters. Our pond is loaded with them. The other thing is Catfish. We also have a ton of frogs on the pond.

[DIRT Farmer]

I raise bluegill because they are my favorite to eat. Just add enough bass to keep the population down, feed them and be prepared to war out your fly rod. If kids are a part of the plan, pole, cork and hook with worm will keep them entertained for hours, at least it does my grandkids.

[Blammer]

Brim, bluegills, panfish, and catfish would be my suggestions.

We have a 1/2 acre pond we have access too and there are always bluegill for catching and eating, and big fun too!

[Just Duke]

Where would one get fish or eggs for stocking a pond?

[John Allen]

We have a couple of pond suppliers within a two hours ride from us. I am sure if you look you will find someone. you should try and find a commercial fish supplier or bait supplier they usually have them.

[starmac]

I would do a little research on bluegill, I believe they have a hybrid that gets pretty big. You need to weigh the hybrid against hardiness and how well they multiply.

A guy may need to study it some , because he might want to get his bluegill, brim, or whatever started before stocking catfish. It will largely depend on what is available from fish suppliers in the area, they will likely be stocking what is best for the area.

[waksupi]

Bass, crappie, and catfish make a nice mix.

[Just Duke]

What would someone feed them. Fish Chow?

[Just Duke]

I have seen deer feeders set up to feed fish on ponds.

[waksupi]

If it's a new pond, you want to let it set for a couple years after it is filled, to grow it's own ecosystem. Some weeds growing up, bugs, frogs, crawdads. That gives the new fry shelter in the weeds, and feed from the smaller organisms. When we built ponds on our farms, it was usually about three years before we stocked.
Some states, the state hatchery will sell you some fish cheap, or give them to you. If they give them to you, the water has to be open to the public to fish in. Most don't know that, so after a year or two, you don't even need to consider that. After we stocked our first one, we used a seine net, and did bucket biology on the rest.
After stocked with fry, you are still several years down to road to have a fishable population, size wise.
We also planted willows along the dams, to strengthen them. No need to do anything fancy, find a few willows growing somewhere, and bury in the ground HORIZONTALLY to grow at about water level.

[MT Gianni]

The pond should have an inlet and aquatic insects in a perfect world. You want a fish that eats those, bluegill; and an end predator. The catfish is one of the best predators out there.

[starmac]

Feeding them all depends on what you are trying to do. There is commercial feed to raise them on, if one is basically running a commercial fish feedlot, 9if everything is right and you are just raising them for yourself, you really shouldn't have to feed them.

[AlaskanGuy]

I say forget the warm water fish, and start some yummy bullfrogs in there.....they are yummy, and you can have a blast with a pellet gun.... Your kids will love going hunting for them.... And they feed themselves.....once they get established, then get you some catfish....

[starmac]

Wow, A salmon fisherman that knows about bullfrogs. Where did that come from? 22 shorts work too, if you don't have a pellet gun. lol

[Bad Water Bill]

Put in lots of local minnows at least 2 years ahead of the planned supper food.

It takes about FIVE years to grow eating frog legs and in the mean time they NEVER stop eating everything else that swims in THEIR pond.:bigsmyl2:

[Just Duke]

I say forget the warm water fish, and start some yummy bullfrogs in there.....they are yummy, and you can have a blast with a pellet gun.... Your kids will love going hunting for them.... And they feed themselves.....once they get established, then get you some catfish....

Neither of us eat reptiles, coons, opossum, snakes, crawdads or alligator.

[Magana559]

Coon is good eating and if you never had frog legs or a rattle snake you sure are missing out on good eating!

[OeldeWolf]

I found rattlesnake to be quite tasty. And good crawdads are hard to beat, in my book. But crawdads also make excellent bait. They also help clean up the bottom of a pond, IIRC.

[starmac]

You are missing out on some good eats there. If you like shrimp, crawfish are just a little better. I haven't eat snake and would have to be awfully hungry to eat opossum.

[waksupi]

The crawdads are mainly forage for the fish. Bass and catfish love 'em.

[Fishman]

Wow! A question about something I'm actually knowledgeable about!

The best mix, hands down in southern/southeastern states is bass/bluegill/catfish. Although crappie are tasty, they will likely do poorly in a half acre pond.

If it's a new pond, stock 5 lbs fathead minnows, 250 2-4" bluegill in the spring. In the fall stock 25 4-6" largemouth bass and your channel catfish 6-8" . If you want max yield, and will be diligently feeding and harvesting, you can stock 100. If not, no more than 50.

The catfish will produce the most, but the blugill and bass will help too. For max yield, a subsurface aerator will prevent fish kills and help aerobic processes get rid of nutrients.

There is a free texas pond management manual available in pdf. I helped write it so I think it is good.

Fish are available from private sources and can be transported in oxygen bags quite a ways in 3-4 hours

Any questions ask away or pm me. This info is accurate for farm ponds in the southeast quarter of the lower 48 and a few other places.

[Fishman]

Duplicate post. Whew! Lot to type on my phone.

[farmerjim]

Everything Fisherman says! I have a 2 acre pond in my back yard and did much the same. I do recommend coppernose bluegill for your panfish. I was catching 2 pound plus ones 4 years after stocking. They breed true. Hybrid bluegill will not. They will mostly revert back to what they started from as a cross.
Good fishing.

[jonp]

Wow! A question about something I'm actually knowledgeable about!

The best mix, hands down in southern/southeastern states is bass/bluegill/catfish. Although crappie are tasty, they will likely do poorly in a half acre pond.

If it's a new pond, stock 5 lbs fathead minnows, 250 2-4" bluegill in the spring. In the fall stock 25 4-6" largemouth bass and your channel catfish 6-8" . If you want max yield, and will be diligently feeding and harvesting, you can stock 100. If not, no more than 50.

The catfish will produce the most, but the blugill and bass will help too. For max yield, a subsurface aerator will prevent fish kills and help aerobic processes get rid of nutrients.

There is a free texas pond management manual available in pdf. I helped write it so I think it is good.

Fish are available from private sources and can be transported in oxygen bags quite a ways in 3-4 hours

Any questions ask away or pm me. This info is accurate for farm ponds in the southeast quarter of the lower 48 and a few other places.

^^^^^When in doubt, ask someone who has done it and knows how to do it^^^^

1 pt: 25 2-4" bass sounds high for 1/2 acre. Are you planning in die off?

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

The only thing left out in the above posts is most Southeastern states have an excellent Wildlife Management Departments. I grew up in North Carolina, currently reside in Georgia and have a brother that lives in Florida who has hunted and fished the entire time he has lived there. From NC to FLA, if I were stocking a farm pond, they would be the first people I would contact. They'll know who the local supplies are in the area of your pond and the answer to just about any question you thought about or didn't think about when you started the project.

Additionally, a buddy and I used to help his grandfather manage a farm pond just about the size of the one you are asking about. If memory serves, he stocked bluegill/largemouth bass/catfish in pretty close to the numbers Fishman stated. That pond was stream fed and had a good sized dam, so aeration wasn't necessary.

You'll also want to think about shade (in the water) and structure for the fish to "live" in if your pond doesn't have it. We added some Christmas trees and other such over the years. Last I knew, that was a fine pond to fish in, for all three species stocked.

[Rooster59]

Co-op style rural feed stores almost always schedule "fish days" around here. A regional hatchery delivers orders, usually twice a year. There is always a line of property owners with buckets to pickup fish. The feed stores usually stock fish chow too.

[oldarkie]

In Missouri the conservation Dept will stock your pond ,but the fish belong to them. You cannot post it and have to let anyone fish it. Iwould keep the government out of my business. Might not be this way in other states.

[Bad Water Bill]

Keep the gov out of your pond.

We have what is called "BUCKET FISHERMEN" around here.

If it can make it into their 5 gal bucket it IS THEIRS.

They will clean out any pond in a single season because they need the fish to feed their children.

[missionary5155]

Greetings Duke
I grew up near a series of ponds all with types of Bluegills. Some got to bigger than finger spread.
Best bait we found was grasshopper "butts". Took longer to collect a victim grasshopper than it dig to cane pole in another huge Bluegill. One of the best eating fish (after yellow lake perch) that I can think of.
Mike in Peru

[dsmjon]

What do you have against the cichlid?

[TheGrimReaper]

Bass, crappie, and catfish make a nice mix.

Yes, sir. I don't like to eat bass though.

[AK Caster]

This would be in the warmer southern states and thanks for your reply.

What state is your pond in?

[snowwolfe]

Wow! A question about something I'm actually knowledgeable about!

The best mix, hands down in southern/southeastern states is bass/bluegill/catfish. Although crappie are tasty, they will likely do poorly in a half acre pond.

If it's a new pond, stock 5 lbs fathead minnows, 250 2-4" bluegill in the spring. In the fall stock 25 4-6" largemouth bass and your channel catfish 6-8" . If you want max yield, and will be diligently feeding and harvesting, you can stock 100. If not, no more than 50.

The catfish will produce the most, but the blugill and bass will help too. For max yield, a subsurface aerator will prevent fish kills and help aerobic processes get rid of nutrients.

There is a free texas pond management manual available in pdf. I helped write it so I think it is good.

Fish are available from private sources and can be transported in oxygen bags quite a ways in 3-4 hours

Any questions ask away or pm me. This info is accurate for farm ponds in the southeast quarter of the lower 48 and a few other places.


Fisherman, we are buying a plot of land in Tennessee and it has a one acre pond on it. Details on the pond are skimpy but so far I found out the previous owner had the pond built and it is up to 12 feet deep in places and spring fed. I think it is about 3 years old. Owner had it stocked with bluegills, cat fish, crappie, and minnows. I am guessing the next step would be bass.
What would you suggest I do next? Stock large mouth bass? How many and what size? Should I have more minnows added for food?

[frankenfab]

Where to get fish? Our Farmer's Co-Op has "fish days", where a big truck shows up, and you bring barrels or other containers for your fish. Last time I bought 6"-8" catfish for $68/100. They have fingerlings, but if you have bass, alot of the fingerlings will get eaten.

The 6"-8" will grow a pound a year if you feed them, and it is a blast watching them come up and scoop the floating food into their mouths. If you feed them on a regular schedule, they will hear you walking on the bank, and the water will be swirling before you even throw the food out.

In 2 years you will have great eating! Note--I believe the blue/whites I buy are sterile, but it is still a good investment even if you have to restock every few years.

[popper]

Crawdads will erode the bank. Catfish, bluegill, largemouth in the south ( smallmouth like colder water), species that like YOUR area. Pretty much like plants - find your zone. I assume a stock pond. If there is a lake nearby, the birds will do some stocking for you - with native fish. Keep the turtles away for a couple years. Cheap fish food is corn. Talapia don't do well in small ponds in N texas. Lots love to eat talapia but don't know they are raised commercially feeding on striped bass poop. Fishing the local 1-2 acre ponds yields mostly cats, many types of B.G., largemouth. Do NOT use white bass! You will have nothing but W.B. and then they will starve off. There is a plant like cat tail without the seed pods that does well, don't mow close to the bank - that's where the bugs are. Eliminate any 'boatmen' bugs you find - fish will NOT eat them.

[KCcactus]

We have a 1/4 ac pond on our property in TX. I stocked catfish and set up a fish feeder using Purina floating catfish food. The first time the pond overflowed, we ended up with millions of various kinds of panfish. I had a neighbor put 2 bass in it to thin out the fingerlings produced each year. It's been so dry the last couple of years, it isn't much more than a mud puddle. I've been trying to clean out the big ones so I can start over with catfish again.

The best place to get information on stocking ponds is pondboss.com. I spent a lot of time reading their forum before my pond was built. There is a lot of great information on the site.

[Bad Water Bill]

I live near a large pond where most of the predators went for lunch and only the panfish remained.

A check showed that the pond was home to many 3" 5 year old stunted panfish.

Largemouth and northerns were added as well as a request that ALL caught panfish be thrown on the banks for the wild critters.

In a matter of 3-4 years there were 36-40" northerns and 3-4# bass being caught and the surviving panfish were much larger as well.

Unfortunately the bucket folks found out about the pond and now we never see much of anything coming out of there.

Yes several northerns remains were found washed up on shore. They probably died of old age but did measure up to 48".

They were a pleasure to watch cruise by and waste my time trying to catch one.

[MT Gianni]

Fisherman, we are buying a plot of land in Tennessee and it has a one acre pond on it. Details on the pond are skimpy but so far I found out the previous owner had the pond built and it is up to 12 feet deep in places and spring fed. I think it is about 3 years old. Owner had it stocked with bluegills, cat fish, crappie, and minnows. I am guessing the next step would be bass.
What would you suggest I do next? Stock large mouth bass? How many and what size? Should I have more minnows added for food?

Not Fishman but when it is yours I would do a net survey and see what is in it and their sizes. If the bluegill are spawning they should put out enough fry for the crappie and cats. Same for the crappie. You should be able to see various age classes and tell if you have only planted fish or if they are reproducing. If there are no minnows found in larger caught fish stomachs do what you need to to ensure that the minnows have enough cover before you restock them.

[Hogtamer]

Catfish are the most efficient converter of food to weight gain of all animals, second only to pigs Nothing else is close. May need an aerator and food is relatively inexpensive. Also, stale bread from local stores, and a black "bug light" off a dock will supply extra protein. Look it up at a state university website or state agriculture extension site. They ain't pretty but a great source of protein.

[pmer]

So what are some more basics to get pound going? An acre is about 208 feet by 208 feet. How many fish could some thing that sized hold and how deep should it be?

Here in Minnesota lakes can freeze out due to lack of oxygen and if they aren't deep enough they can freeze to the bottom. I think we can get 3 feet of ice or more by late winter.

[fouronesix]

Catfish are the most efficient converter of food to weight gain of all animals, second only to pigs Nothing else is close. May need an aerator and food is relatively inexpensive. Also, stale bread from local stores, and a black "bug light" off a dock will supply extra protein. Look it up at a state university website or state agriculture extension site. They ain't pretty but a great source of protein.

That's it in a nutshell. Small ponds that don't have a lot of constant fresh water flow through, are problematic especially in southern or more temperate climes. There is a constant cycle of high summer 02 and high temps followed by phyto algae blooms, followed by algae die offs, followed by high concentrations of bacteria and/or 02 consuming microbiotics that consume 02 and produce CO2. In those conditions few fish can survive much less grow. With some guidance from local experts and "enough" of the right conditions the best bet is usually catfish. Some small ponds without INTENSIVE intervention and costly management may not even support the toughest of catfish like the bullheads.

[Fishman]

Not Fishman but when it is yours I would do a net survey and see what is in it and their sizes. If the bluegill are spawning they should put out enough fry for the crappie and cats. Same for the crappie. You should be able to see various age classes and tell if you have only planted fish or if they are reproducing. If there are no minnows found in larger caught fish stomachs do what you need to to ensure that the minnows have enough cover before you restock them.

Correct. It all depends on what is there now, not what they stocked at some point in the past.

[Fishman]

So what are some more basics to get pound going? An acre is about 208 feet by 208 feet. How many fish could some thing that sized hold and how deep should it be?

Here in Minnesota lakes can freeze out due to lack of oxygen and if they aren't deep enough they can freeze to the bottom. I think we can get 3 feet of ice or more by late winter.

Minnesota is a different story than Texas. As mentioned previously, contact the local conservation guy/fisheries biologist and they will direct you better than I can.

[John Allen]

Duke, if the pond is already established you should be fine. build some areas with lower water levels and structure for the smaller fish. Also you can ad rocks along the shoreline for the crawfish and other smaller fry and fish.

[Bad Water Bill]

Another thing you might want to look into in your area is a local organization called "NORTH AMERICAN NATIVE FISH ASSOCIATION"

They will be able to provide you with a ton of info about what type of minnows can survive and multiply in your area and why.

They will show you how to correctly use a minnow net to check how well your pond is progressing and more.

Remember it all starts and succeeds with the minnow.

[Duckiller]

As a registerd Civil Engineer let me recommend that you do not plant any trees on the damn. You may plant trees along the sides of the pond and acroiss the back but not on the damn. Tree roots will let water out of the damn. Please no trees!

[savagetactical]

Bass, crappie, and catfish make a nice mix.

yep this is a classic mix

[snowwolfe]

If a one acre lake is properly stocked and maintained with bluegill, minnows, crappie, catfish and bass what size can you expect the fish to reach within 5 years of stocking?

[mikeym1a]

Pop had a pond put in for Mom about 10 years before she died. It was about 3/4 acre. He got his starters from a neighbor who had an old runoff pond back in the woods. He got a bunch of little perch minnows, and whatever else he could get. By the time the pond had filled, he had more perch than he knew what to do with. His rule was, '...if it's too small to eat, it's 'cat fish'...' He had a half dozen very fat barn cats. The would come down to the pond and sit right behind us waiting for their share. It was funny to watch. This was in northern Virginia. He had perch, bass, kingfishers, martins,.... Sold the place after mom died.

[waksupi]

That's the problem with perch in any small body of water. They will quickly overpopulate it, if there aren't some strong predators, and heavy fishing pressure for the perch.

Snowwolfe, too many variables to give you a good answer. Maybe our biologist can chime in.

[MT Gianni]

One female perch can hold over 100,000 eggs and they can spawn @ 4" long. They are the cottontail of the waters everything eats them. If not enough larger fish are in a pond with perch the perch will peck at them until they die from annoyance.

[quilbilly]

Wow! A question about something I'm actually knowledgeable about!

The best mix, hands down in southern/southeastern states is bass/bluegill/catfish. Although crappie are tasty, they will likely do poorly in a half acre pond.

If it's a new pond, stock 5 lbs fathead minnows, 250 2-4" bluegill in the spring. In the fall stock 25 4-6" largemouth bass and your channel catfish 6-8" . If you want max yield, and will be diligently feeding and harvesting, you can stock 100. If not, no more than 50.

The catfish will produce the most, but the blugill and bass will help too. For max yield, a subsurface aerator will prevent fish kills and help aerobic processes get rid of nutrients.

There is a free texas pond management manual available in pdf. I helped write it so I think it is good.

Fish are available from private sources and can be transported in oxygen bags quite a ways in 3-4 hours

Any questions ask away or pm me. This info is accurate for farm ponds in the southeast quarter of the lower 48 and a few other places.
Everything fish man says being fellow but an old, broke down, fish biologist from the Northwest. I would add that if you are just looking for meat, catfish alone might work fine then a few times a week add a cup of dry cat food (cheap kitten food) for its high protein content like what is used in many salmon/trout hatcheries (they use a product called Oregon Moist Pellet if they don't produce their own fish meal). It is good to have both an inflow and outflow of water (small) so there is an occasional exchange of water.

[snowwolfe]

Bump to keep this topic alive as it contains some good information.

[snowwolfe]

Bill,
My research indicated if you are building a lake or pond there wasn't anything to be gained by making it deeper than 12 feet.

[Sweetpea]

Bill,
My research indicated if you are building a lake or pond there wasn't anything to be gained by making it deeper than 12 feet.

Depends on the type of fish...

Some only survive in cooler water... Need deeper pond...

[texassako]

I would recommend stocking baitfish and a panfish as soon as possible, then the bigger fish a while later after those are established. You might want to take a look at Pond Boss magazine and the associated forum. A channel cat/bluegill pond is tough to beat if your water temps are ok for them