Pond's full, needs some fish. Any advice?

[PassnItOn]

Have no idea how to go about it. Minnows first, followed by perch, then the bigger fish? What would you put in it? It's fair size bout half an acre. Love crappie but hear they wipe out ponds. Love catfish but I hear they will muddy one up (like the clear water). Of course some bass for the sport of it. Will Talapia make it in southern Brazoria county.

I've heard lots of things but thought I'd turn to the GS for sound advice. Thanks!

[Possum Fat]

White crappie will take over a pond. Black crappie will not.

[Thumper]

I'd call TPWD and get their advice, that's where I'd start not knowing what's the best way to stock a pond.

This is just my opinion but I'd stock with recommended minnows and miniature feeder perch. Our catch and release only subdivision pond is plum full of 10" perch. I think the big perch hurt a pond in the long run.

[Tmag]

Minnows first is right, they will grow in numbers quickly.

We came back with red eared perch and coppernose perch in ours last year and this year.(We were told blue gill are very agressive so we left them out) They are doing great. We will not add any other fish as our pond is small and the perch are great for the grandkids and PawPaw when he feels like wetting a hook.

These are from last years add in.




We used Dunn as they come to our local feed store and also the one in Conroe. Pond boos is good too and Fishndadio has some great folks he can recommend.

[Possum Fat]

Go to the Dunns Fish Farm website. They have really good info on what to stock for what size pond and how many to stock.

[Bill M]

pondboss.com 1/2 acre will limit you.

[canny]

White crappie will take over a pond. Black crappie will not.

Not exactly true, both species will overtake a pond. The minimum recommended size for a pond to sustain crappie of either species is 2 acres I believe, I would confirm that with TPWD. Remember that even with largemouth bass you need to initiate a culling program to keep the numbers in balance and not let it get over populated. One thing that you can do however is stock Hybrid Stripers, these fish will not reproduce and will also eat a pelleted ration, aka catfish food. You can stock a forage base such as bluegill and fathead minnows, but also supplement the fish with the floating food. This is a good option IMO for those that want just sport fish, but don't care to keep many to eat.

[BrandonA]

On a pond that size I would just stock bluegill and bait fish. Bass will wipe out a pond that size.

[bowhunterchris]

When our pond filled back up last year we stocke black crappie. We didn't stock anything else. Minnows and perch find their way into the pond via birds. Right now I am catching 15" crappie, big green ear perch, and there is a ton of minnows, again all we stocked was crappie.

[BrandonA]

Not exactly true, both species will overtake a pond. The minimum recommended size for a pond to sustain crappie of either species is 2 acres I believe, I would confirm that with TPWD. Remember that even with largemouth bass you need to initiate a culling program to keep the numbers in balance and not let it get over populated. One thing that you can do however is stock Hybrid Stripers, these fish will not reproduce and will also eat a pelleted ration, aka catfish food. You can stock a forage base such as bluegill and fathead minnows, but also supplement the fish with the floating food. This is a good option IMO for those that want just sport fish, but don't care to keep many to eat.

I was told 10 acres.

[canny]

I was told 10 acres.

It may have been 10 acres. Its been many years since I conducted pond management activities and I couldn't remember for sure.

[canny]

When our pond filled back up last year we stocke black crappie. We didn't stock anything else. Minnows and perch find their way into the pond via birds. Right now I am catching 15" crappie, big green ear perch, and there is a ton of minnows, again all we stocked was crappie.

Come back to this thread in 5 years and tell us how many 15" crappie you catch. They are aggressive predators and soon they will get to a point where there is not enough forage to sustain any growth. The result will be stunted crappie that rarely reach 10" in size. Just a word of advice.

[Liven4TheHunt]

Im not an expert but I read a lot at A&M http://agrilife.org
They cover everything from hog trapping plans to timber production

[bowhunterchris]

Come back to this thread in 5 years and tell us how many 15" crappie you catch. They are aggressive predators and soon they will get to a point where there is not enough forage to sustain any growth. The result will be stunted crappie that rarely reach 10" in size. Just a word of advice.

Every big one I catch get et

[BrandonA]

Not an expert but have done extensive research into stocking our ponds. Todd Overton is a wealth of information. They do have hybrid crappies but they hard to get and after several generations I think you are back to square one. Our Lake is 15 acres and deep ( 40ft) and I am leary about stocking crappie.