15 replies to this topic

[racemx51]

Hello all,

 

Now, first off let me start by telling you I know absolutely NOTHING about fish or fishing. But I recently purchased a large piece of land in Augusta, Maine and am working on building a home. When buying the land I found a rock quarry full of water in the back corner of my property. Its fairly large, but not like acres large... Id say maybe 300 feet long or so and not quite as wide. Very nice looking.. I'd love to swim in there during the summer! My girlfriend is scared there may be blood suckers, etc. in it and a lot of people are telling me to stock it with fish so they can 'clean up the water' .......

So I'd say my first question is what the heck fish do I put in there? I've called the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, but they are very dry people and don't seem to want to tell me much other than I need to get a stocking permit. I've asked some people around here and a lot of people seem to be telling me bass are best.. Now, the quarry does seem to still be spring fed, because even during the summer I can find a small stream of water in the back of it going down the hill. It does still turn a bit green during summer from algae (?) but for the most part looks like nice water.

Can you guys help me out at all? I have no idea what I'm doing...

Thank you!

Ryan

[fundulus]

One species you should certainly stock is pumpkinseed sunfish, Lepomis gibbosus. They're native that far north and should thrive. The same is true of yellow perch, which are good predators when they get large, and golden shiners too. Everyone says "bass" when asked about such stocking, but bass aren't nearly native to Maine and they might do TOO well in your pond. I'm sure there are other believable species too.

[Casper]

Ryan...

Come to the New Hampshire NANFA annual Convention in just 4 weeks.  You can learn a LOT about native fish in your area and beyond.

Watch out about stocking predators.  I would start with small interesting fish first.  Sounds like a wonderful opportunity.

[racemx51]

Thanks for the help guys... 

I'm right in the middle of building that house Casper, so making it to that convention would be hard. Now, lets say I put these 'golden shiners' in... Do you guys feel there would be enough food for them to survive? Would I have to feed them a bit? How many would be a good idea to have?

[NotCousteau]

Just curious: Have you tried fishing/netting/etc. in that quarry? Maybe it's already stocked.

[racemx51]

I have not, but the water (especially in spring) is quite clear and I have not seen any type of movement...

[Betta132]

Drag a seine net through to see if you have anything. At the very least, you should have some big aquatic bugs. Just wear gloves- some of 'em bite.

Are there any aquatic plants? Those might be a good thing to add, if not. Also, a big ole netful of leaf litter from a nearby river would bring in some invertebrate biodiversity and might introduce some fish fry, too. 

Crayfish and ghost (or whatever's native) shrimp are probably a good plan as well, if they don't already live in the quarry. 

Definitely start with sunfish, shiners, and the like, small non-predators. And you may want to go fishing/netting in a nearby natural pond, see what lives there and therefore might do well in your pond.

Any photos?

Edited by Betta132, 18 May 2016 - 01:22 PM.

[racemx51]

Here are a few pictures of it. There does seem to be some plant life in there. Mostly on the edges. The center I'm guessing is very deep, but I have yet to test it out..

 

 

[NotCousteau]

Beautiful spot. Good luck.

[racemx51]

Thank you. So how many fish do you guys feel like I should add into a place like that?

[fundulus]

Not so many, if they like it you'll soon have lots of individuals from the suggested species.

[Casper]

Cautious ALERT with Sunfish.  They ARE predators and can quickly overpopulate.  This is a very common occurance in farm ponds.

I would stick with local minnows, topminnows, shiners, maybe lake rainbow darters if appropiate.

That is a BEAUTIFUL site.  Put on a mask midsummer and take a swim.

[Evan P]

I would recommend against Lake Rainbow Darters simply because they are only naturally found in one lake and their potential to spread is much higher than that of their stream-going brethren.

 

Based on a list of fish from a few random watersheds in Maine, I would say Banded Killifish, Common Shiner, Creek Chub / Fallfish, Eastern Blacknose Dace, Finescale Dace, Pearl Dace, Northern Redbelly Dace, Brook Stickleback, Creek Chubsucker, Golden Shiner, White Sucker, and Pumpkinseed Sunfish would all be good picks for a first year stocking. If all goes well after this season has come and gone, maybe try adding Yellow Perch. Then a few years down the line if stunting becomes an issue, I think even a single Chain Pickerel would make a pretty significant difference. Whatever you do, do NOT add bass. The lake will never be the same again. The fact that you have a small spring flow coming into the pond means that you have a much larger variety available to you than most people, so take advantage of that. It will lead to some really cool sights in the years to come.

[racemx51]

Thanks guys. One thing I'm noticing is almost everyone is saying Golden Shiners in their list of fish. I asked a guy here at work that is a pretty good fisherman and he says they are very easy to come by around here. So I think I will start with that and see how that does. Now, once again... How many should I put in? One of you guys said not many but please remember, I know nothing about this so I dont know what not many means.....

[fundulus]

If you released several dozen that would probably be plenty as a ballpark guesstimate. Others may have more of a hard number based on experience.

[FirstChAoS]

Deep, northern, and spring fed? You could keep Brook Trout!