POND STOCKING

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nctarman23
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2011/04/05 02:38:11 (permalink)

POND STOCKING

Hello, I was wondering if anybody out there has ever done some private pond stocking? My pond is about one acre in surface area and approximately 15 feet deep, I am not quite sure if it is spring fed or what but the water quality is terrific. At this moment I have bass, bluegill and crappie in there. I am looking into stocking it with rainbow and brown trout to add a better variety of fish. From what I've read is that these particular trout are more equipped to live in warmer ponds than the brook trout. I was also thinking of throwing ONE tiger musky in there and am well aware of the ridiculous appetite it comes with and have more than enough bluegills to tame control his hunger(hopefully).. I am curious if anyone has experimented with stocking trout or musky in a private pond? Does anyone know where I could purchase these species in the Erie area? Thanks in advance for the help and input, I appreciate it! Feel free to e-mail me at nctarman23@aol.com
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    nctarman23
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    RE: POND STOCKING 2011/04/05 02:50:10 (permalink)
    Sorry about the double post..Im an idiot an using my cell phone and didn't think it went through...my bad guys
    #2
    BloodyHand
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    RE: POND STOCKING 2011/04/05 07:43:45 (permalink)
    I'm thiniking the trout mite not survive in the pond. I'm not 100% on this. With summer on the way that pond will probably get too warm.
    #3
    Extreme Shallow
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    RE: POND STOCKING 2011/04/05 08:19:49 (permalink)
    http://zettsfish.com/

    I've used this company over the years for stocking several different ponds. They provided me with a lot of great info and their fish did well. The are about a 3 hour drive from Erie I believe.
    #4
    SteelSlayer77
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    RE: POND STOCKING 2011/04/05 09:06:30 (permalink)
    Not sure what kind of bass you have, but my grandparents tried to introduce medium sized brown and rainbow trout to their pond which already contained a good population of large mouth bass & bluegill.  The bass ate all of them pretty quickly.  I couldn't even imagine trying to keep a large musky in a pond, I would think that it would eat everything in sight when it gets some size on the other fish.  If you don't have large mouth bass, then it might work if you stock decent size trout.  Hope that helps.

    If you have springs on your property it might be best to dig one of them out and have a smaller second pond exclusively for browns and rainbows.  That's what my father ended up doing.  The trout aren't going to do well unless you have a good spring, if it's not spring fed then you will probably need a fountain or something to oxygenate the water.
    #5
    psu_fish
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    RE: POND STOCKING 2011/04/05 09:41:41 (permalink)
    my advice would be to go on opening day of trout, catch a few, keep them alive and put them in the pond and see how they do before committing alot of $$ into stocking from a fish farm
    #6
    Bogeyjoker
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    RE: POND STOCKING 2011/04/05 10:12:05 (permalink)
    SteelSlayer is right. LM bass will decimate smaller trout. You could buy some breeder size trout though. A 12' foot deep pond will hold trout well only if it is spring fed. I have a spring fed pond at our farm in Spartansburg and 6' below the surface it is about 47 degrees in the middle of summer.
    #7
    chrishinesg
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    RE: POND STOCKING 2011/04/05 12:10:09 (permalink)

    It's not how deep you fish...It's how you wiggle your worm.
    #8
    spoonchucker
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    RE: POND STOCKING 2011/04/05 13:37:26 (permalink)
    This deals a bit more about aquatic vegetation, but there is also link to other pond management resources. Under the main title, look for related: PSU extention pond management page.

    http://fishandboat.com/faqpond.htm
    post edited by spoonchucker - 2011/04/05 13:39:48

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    #9
    fish whisper
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    RE: POND STOCKING 2011/04/05 14:41:23 (permalink)
    My cousins stock theirs without any problem, just make sure the trout are 6+ when you put them in and you have a shaded tree area in a deeper hole of your pond for the summer. PM me and I might be able to help you with more details
    #10
    Piscator
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    RE: POND STOCKING 2011/04/05 20:30:23 (permalink)
    You might want to talk to the people that run the 3CU Trout Club.  They are one of  the largest cooperative trout hatchery clubs in Pennsylvania and they are based out of the state fish hatchery in Fairview which is just west of Erie.  I think they stock something like a hundred thousand trout each year in northwest Pennsylvania but don't quote me on that number.  I know they stock streams and ponds that are used to introduce kids to fishing not sure about private bodies of water.  They run raceways that raise browns, brooks, rainbows and even some tiger trout and palominos.  I know they have told me in the past that if you want any of their trout to survive the summer then you need water that stays below 60 degrees because dissolved oxygen levels drop dramatically with every degree the temperature goes up.  I guess you could put an aeration fountain in to help with that problem but high temps really stress all species of trout.  I know that hatcheries don't usually attempt to raise bass and pan fish which are warm water species with trout which are cold water species not even in the larger ponds.  3CU could be a good source of information for you.  Good luck...
    #11
    nctarman23
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    RE: POND STOCKING 2011/04/06 02:06:19 (permalink)
    Thanks for the responses guys! I appreciate the information and knowledge you have shared...I know I have at least one spring on the property which forms more of a puddle than a pond, its like 10 ft. by 10 ft. and MAYBE a foot deep...but they stock creeks by the house and I caught a trout and put him in there....Not only is he alive, but has been for 4 years! Haha kinda funny I guess...Somebody posted that the musky would decimate the fish population...While I am well aware of the appetite and temper of these predators, do you really think one musky would destroy my entire pond? Sounds kinda crazy...One more question I had is how will I know if the trout die? I have never seen fish floating on my pond and its not like they get washed to shore if your sniffin what I'm scratchin here...Thanks again gentlemen
    #12
    SteelSlayer77
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    RE: POND STOCKING 2011/04/06 09:45:41 (permalink)
    I don't actually know anyone who has ever had a musky in a pond, so my comment about the musky was not based on experience.  But I have raised trout with my father in both a spring he dug out along the woods, and in my grandparents farm pond with large mouth bass and blue gill.  If you have 20"+ large mouth bass so big you can stick your fist in their mouth, they will easily eat 12" trout like candy.  What kind of bass do you have? 

    We stocked about 30 trout in the large farm pond, and within two years none of them were ever seen or caught again.  The trout probably averaged in the 10" range when they were stocked, and there are lots of big large mouths in the pond. 

    Here is something I found by just doing a simple Google search on the musky.  Maybe this will help:

    Predator Pond

    Like 'em with teeth and plenty of muscle? Well, don't rule out small ponds if you want to establish a predator pond.
       Even though much is still to be discovered about managing predators in small waters, it appears large predators such as musky and pike are viable management options for small, cool water ponds. While results remain varied, some pond managers are growing amazingly large predators in relatively small ponds.
       When considering musky or pike, please realize these critters eat lots of forage, so in a 1- to 2-acre pond there could only be a few adult sized predators, maybe fewer than ten. Such small numbers can create a problem not generating enough timely return for pond owners. Pond owners may not even see their prized pond dwellers for years, especially when you embrace the fickle nature of a muskellunge.
       Although large musky or pike can eat just about any fish, forage remains the ultimate problem. Small bass and bluegill are perhaps the easiest forage for pond owners to grow, but members of the Esox family prefer soft rayed forage such as suckers, trout or even creek chubs.
       In parts of the country where spring fed ponds are common, trout make excellent forage for musky or pike. The point of emphasis is for pond owners to utilize whatever resources are available near their location. Since suckers and creek chubs are preferred food sources for musky, my favorite example of a predator impoundment comes from a pond owner who transformed an old beaver pond into a one acre farm pond.
       Primarily filled with creek chubs, the pond owner searched for a manageable solution which would create a sport fishery from an existing forage base of chubs. I suggested musky, and after stocking two 30-inch male musky into the pond, the pond owner eagerly waited for some indication of his management strategy.
       It wasn't until two years after initially stocking muskies he caught a 38 incher from the pond, twice in fact, during the same month. The following year he landed a 42 incher from the pond. Male musky don't get much larger than 40 inches, so these fish had likely attained maximum length. Note that stocking fish of the same sex helps prevent overpopulation of top predators in small ponds. Wonder how large female muskies could have grown in his small pond?

    http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/small-ponds.html
    #13
    Jester
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    RE: POND STOCKING 2011/04/06 16:43:56 (permalink)
    A friend did this in a pond.  Since it was in the woods and spring fed, trout survived until the Musky was intro'd.  They are eating machines, within the year, the kids could no longer catch a bluegill or crappie w/ any regularity, and the trout were no where to be found.  Musky grew, but since the emphasis was both fishing for the kids, the Trophy Musky never grew to 'trophy' status--was harvested and returned from whence it came. 
    #14
    fishmeup
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    RE: POND STOCKING 2011/04/06 19:24:33 (permalink)
    Keystone park lake (Westmorland co) Has trout fed muskys.....LOL....
    A friend and me were fishing for trout 10yrs ago and he caught a 25lb musky!!!
    if you look hard you can see the musky go for the trout when they come out of the shoot when stocking.....

    Rob Fierst
    #15
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