Farm pond management is a year-round effort. Although not every management practice is required every month, and some are only needed once every several years, timing is critical to the success of almost all of the standard practices recommended in Alabama. This calendar may help the pond owner remember when to conduct appropriate management procedures and, thereby, ensure proper timing and satisfaction from management inputs.
Calendar
Lime---Anytime; be careful in summer months; optimal time--October through January
Fertilization---mid-February through mid September
Chemical weed control ---mid-February through August
Biological weed control (grass carp)---All year
Stock bluegills, redear (1"-3")---November through March then
Stock bass fingerlings (1"-3")---late May through June
Stock bass (3"-5")---mid-September through October
Stock catfish---Anytime; optimal time---February through May
Catfish spawn---mid-April through May
Bass spawn---mid-February through mid-May
Bluegills spawn---mid-April through September
Redear spawn---April through May
Feed catfish and bluegills---March through November
Winter drawdown---mid-November through February then
Refill ---February through mid-March
Fishing and harvest of all species---All year
Construction or renovation---May through September
Timetable for Pond Owner Services provided by Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division.
Information provided by Russell A. Wright
Fisheries Extension Specialist
Alabama Cooperative Extension System
The Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources provide a variety of services for the private pond owner. These services include fish for stocking, pond balance checks, fish kill investigations, and weed control recommendaitons. Applications for these services must be submitted in a timely fashion to the appropriate district office. Some of these services are also provided by Alabama Cooperative Extension System personnel.
Fish for Stocking
Some hatcheries provide Florida largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides floridanus), northern strain bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) , and redear sunfish (Lepomis microlophus) also known as shellcrackers for $40 per acre. To qualify to receive fish to stock a pond, the owner must submit an application to the appropriate district prior to January 31 of the year the fish are needed. The district biologist must then certify that the pond meets the minimum area requirement of at least ¼ surface acre for a fertilized and ½ acre for an unfertilized pond. The pond must be free of wild fish. The only fish that can be present in the pond at the time of stocking are mosquitofish (Gambusia sp.) commomly called top minnows or grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella). However, it is advisable to wait to stock the grass carp until the pond has been approved for stocking.
For qualifying ponds less than 20 surface acre, state hatchery technicians deliver about 800 bluegill, 200 redear sunfish and 100 largemouth bass fingerlings per acre to a location, usually a post office, in the county where the pond is located. The pond owner must meet the delivery and provide containers filled with pond water to transport the fish to the pond. For larger ponds, the technicians will deliver the fish to the pond. Bluegill and redear sunfish are stocked from November through March while largemouth bass are stocked the following late May or June. This split stocking permits the bluegills and redears to become established and begin to reproduce providing food for juvenile largemouth bass stocked the next spring. The state provides no other species for stocking in private ponds.
District biologists can recommend other than the standard rates and procedures for stocking under special circumstances. In unfertilized ponds the state stocks at half the rate of fertilized ponds at a cost of $40/acre. Should the January 31 deadline be missed, the pond owner may purchase sunfish (bream) from a private hatchery. The state can then provide largemouth bass necessary for balanced checking. For a bass only stocking, the sunfish must be stocked and an application in place before April 1. The cost for a bass only stocking is $20/acre. Should the district biologist find that a pond has experienced recruitment failure (no young bass are produced or survive) of the largemouth bass and be in danger of becoming overcrowded with sunfish, the state can provide largemouth bass fingerlings for late summer remedial stocking.
Balance Checks
State biologists will do seine checks of private ponds to determine if the fish populations are in "balance" (proper number and sizes of both sunfish and bass to generate good growth and fishing success). Biologists conduct pond checks in June and September. Applications for June balance checks must be made by May 31 and by August 31 for September checks. Results of theses checks are summarized by the district biologist and recommendations are provided to the pond owner in writing.
Fish Kills, Water Quality, and Excess Vegetation Control
Fisheries biologists will investigate unexplained fish kills in recreational fishing ponds. Pond owners should contact their district biologist immediately if fish are sick and begin dying in their pond. The district biologists will also provide advice and help with problems of poor water quality and vegetation control. These problems can be reported at any time during the year. Owners should seek help with these problems when they first arise and when they may be corrected easily.
