Assistance in restocking a private pond?

[ACC]

I have a small 3/4 acre pond on my property. Used to catch nice sized bass & catfish in it about 10 years ago. Since then it’s seems like mostly all bluegill and sunfish. Thinking I might need to have it restocked. But I have no idea where to start. Is there a service that restocks ponds? If not, how do I determine what kind and how many fish to add?

Advice & experience appreciated.

 

[Percolater]

I use Jones Fish to stock my pond. They have "Fish days" every 2-3 weeks in the spring and fall where you can pick up yourself at a discount, otherwise they offer live fish delivery. I only restock every 5-10 years depending on how deep the freeze over the winter, but sounds like bass and channel cats would be your best option since you already have plenty sunfish. Hybrid or largemouth bass will be cheap this time of year and it's surprising how well they will regulate the sunfish/ bluegill population. Get at least 100 of each, no more than 200 each. Might even be worth splurging to get the medium sized or large bass for rapid population control.

 

[ws6duramax]

I use Clear Creek Fisheries in Martinsville . Family owned place and very knowledgeable and friendly . They can come up with a solid game plan to get you back on track .

 

[avboiler11]

I got all the fish for my 0.6A pond from the Andry's Fish Farm truck that makes periodic stops around the state.

Upcoming Schedule

Upcoming Schedule for Andry's Fish Farm

www.andrysfishfarm.com

IMO, you can NEVER have to many bluegill. If the BG you catch are small then it is "overpopulated" but stocking largemouth and/or channel catfish (no more than 100 total predators per acre) will correct that as the largemouth/cats will feast on BG and grow quickly. If the bluegill you catch are average in size then it is probably well balanced between predator and prey, if the bluegill are large and bass are small then the pond is overpopulated with predators.

FWIW, I stocked my newly built pond in March of 2020 with 10lb of fathead minnows, 200 3" bluegill, 100 3" hybrid bluegill and 100 3" redear sunfish. Starting in late April I began feeding Optimal Junior pellet food, which the fish (especially the hybrids) hogged on. Starting in late May, I had bluegill bowl nests in my pea gravel 'beach' area. In September, I had tens of thousands of fathead minnows swimming along my riprap banks and stocked 50 4" largemouth bass along with an additional 50 each 4" bluegill & hybrid bluegill.

 

[Leadeye]

I use Clear Creek Fisheries in Martinsville . Family owned place and very knowledgeable and friendly . They can come up with a solid game plan to get you back on track .

I've used these guys as well with good results.

 

[Gabriel]

I get mine from Andry's Fish Farm. They have routes every year and set up for a few hours at different farm store parking lots.

 

[maxwelhse]

My folks had their done by some outfit they hooked up with via TSC. No complaints. Bass, Blue Gill, and Walleye. They have a pretty big pond.

 

[paintman]

My parents always use the people that come to tsc as well. Fish have always been great.
unfortunately for us a little over a year ago when we had lots of rain a cotton wood tree came down and landed on the drain. The damn blew out and we are in the process of rebuilding

 

[GoBoilers!]

You will get a lot of advice here on INGO, but each pond is different and what to stock in a pond depends on a lot of factors that need to be taken into account to do it right.
If you need some professional advice on fish stocking, ask a DNR Fisheries Biologist. That is what they are paid to do. Tell them about your pond, it's history, the problems, and what your goals are, and they can usually help you out.
Here is the page to find out the FB for your District:

District Fisheries Biologists

www.in.gov

 

[Cameramonkey]

Referring to the "private pond size limit" (or whatever it was called) thread... Just make sure you stock using private hatcheries and not state hatcheries. At least per one of the commenters, using state owned hatcheries subjects your pond to more regulation. So since The King's fishes are in your pond, DNR now has (supposed) jurisdiction over your private property. I dont know if that is totally true or not, but given the state of .gov, I can see it being accurate.

Call me crazy, but I'd also ask questions of the hatcheries and ask if they have contracts with the DNR; I could see some overreach with the DNR trying to say that private hatcheries with state contracts/subsidies *ALSO* affect the DNRs jurisdiction over your pond.

 

[greg]

This guy does great work also http://www.hoosierpondpros.com/Home_Page.html

 

[Mark-DuCo]

I came here to say I use Andrys but the drive is too far for you. Little did I know how big they were. I had no idea they delivered all over Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois. They are about 15 minutes from my house.

 

[Willie]

This guy does great work also http://www.hoosierpondpros.com/Home_Page.html

Yep, he sure does....

You dont just want to buy fish, you need someone that can not only sell you the proper fish but show you how to manage the pond. There is more to it than meets the eye...