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

[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.