Management Of Recreational Fish Ponds In Alabama

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Alternative Stocking Strategies

Ponds of less than 1/2 acre are very difficult to manage for bass-bream. Probably the best management strategy for this size pond is to stock it with channel catfish only. Catfish are splendid fighters and are great to eat. The best way to calculate how many to stock is to figure that it will cost you about 50¢ per pound to get them to eating size. This may take from 1 to 2 years, depending on how often and how well you feed them. Stock 300 to 2,000 catfish per acre and feed them April through October and at reduced rates during the winter. Feed no more than 6 days per week and do not feed more than 20 pounds per acre per day (Table 7).

Table 7 assumes that the average weight of the fish is about 1 pound. In this kind of management system, fish removed by fishing can be replaced by restocking 5- to 6-inch catfish fingerlings in the early spring. For a winter feeding schedule request Circular ANR457, "Feeding Catfish During Winter."

Catfish in many cases will reproduce too much if stocked alone in ponds. Bass can be stocked at about 20 to 30 per acre with catfish to limit reproduction. Another way to limit overpopulation is to stop reproduction. Since catfish are cavity spawners, reproduction can be limited in ponds by (1) removing all stumps, rock piles, etc.; (2) not allowing muskrat or beavers to colonize (catfish will spawn in the burrows); and (3) not providing any type of container that could be used for spawning (for example, tires or barrels).

Other fish that can be stocked in small ponds include blue catfish, hybrid bluegill, threadfin shad, golden shiners, fathead minnows, and rainbow trout. Before stocking these species, talk with a fisheries biologist.

Blue catfish can be stocked instead of channel catfish. They grow larger and are better predators than channel catfish, but they will compete with bass.

Hybrid bluegill have a large mouth and train readily to commercial fish feed. They will grow rapidly if fed commercial fish feeds and are excellent for angling. Hybrid bluegill, however, are not sterile as is sometimes claimed. Most are males but if females are present they will reproduce. Offspring produced are undesirable; therefore, hybrid blue-gill should be stocked with 20 to 30 bass per acre to prey on any young produced. Every 3 to 4 years the pond will need to be drained and restocked.

Golden shiners, fathead minnows, and threadfin shad can be stocked for forage. Many states promote the use of golden shiners or threadfin shad as bass forage. Both species can reproduce rapidly in ponds and provide excellent forage for bass. Golden shiners will compete with young bream for food, eat bass and bream eggs, and can overpopulate even if bass are not over-harvested. Bass have a difficult time controlling their numbers because these fish, as well as crappie, reproduce about the same time of year, so that young bass are not large enough to eat them. Threadfin shad are excellent bass forage but may not survive winter temperatures in some parts of Alabama. Fathead minnows are slow swimmers and do not grow large as adults. If ponds are stocked with bass, fatheads are quickly eliminated (see Turn-Overs and Enhancement Strategies). In small ponds stocked with only channel catfish and not fed regularly, fathead minnows can provide excellent forage. Stock about 500 fathead minnows per acre.

Rainbow trout will survive only during the winter in Alabama ponds. Rainbow trout can be stocked when water temperature is near 65 º F, usually by early November. Rainbow trout, stocked as 7- to 9-inch fingerlings, will grow rapidly feeding on insect larvae and small bream. Rainbows will also take commercial fish feeds and can grow to 1 pound by April. Rainbows will die as water temperature reaches 70 º to 72 º F in early April. Trout angling can be outstanding when water temperature is above 50 º F in March and early April.

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