Anyone with Native Fish Ponds?

I'm interested to see if anyone here has an outdoor pond stocked with native fish, particularly those in the New England area.

I'm loosely thinking about making an outdoor pond for some larger fish species caught locally. The local pond is frozen on top for several months in the winter, so these fish should be fine in a deep backyard pond, right?

I'm interested to see if anyone here has an outdoor pond stocked with native fish, particularly those in the New England area.

I'm loosely thinking about making an outdoor pond for some larger fish species caught locally. The local pond is frozen on top for several months in the winter, so these fish should be fine in a deep backyard pond, right?

I believe the recommended minimum greatest depth for stocked ponds in the North is 10-12 feet. I'm sure any local pond and lake species would do fine in such a pond.

I believe the recommended minimum greatest depth for stocked ponds in the North is 10-12 feet. I'm sure any local pond and lake species would do fine in such a pond.

Just curious, but why don't you think so? As long as the pond is that deep, the fish should do fine shouldn't they? I could understand why a gar or bowfin wouldn't survive it, since they survive mostly on atmospheric air, but wouldn't bass, catfish, and other large lake fish survive?

How big of a pond are you planning to build? If it's big enough, I would get some feeder fish established, such as fathead minnows, so that you won't have to buy food for them.

Just curious, but why don't you think so? As long as the pond is that deep, the fish should do fine shouldn't they? I could understand why a gar or bowfin wouldn't survive it, since they survive mostly on atmospheric air, but wouldn't bass, catfish, and other large lake fish survive?

How big of a pond are you planning to build? If it's big enough, I would get some feeder fish established, such as fathead minnows, so that you won't have to buy food for them.

I think you misread my post. I said they should do fine. Gar and bowfin would likely do well too, as they survive in other northern waters that ice over. All fish need less oxygen at low temps, so the dinosaurs would probably be able to last without needing to gulp air.

A forage base is a good idea. Fatheads or golden shiners are the usual choice (or bluegill if it's meant to be a bass pond).

Probably the best thing to do is contact your state fish and game folks; in most states they have a pamphlet of recommendations for building and stocking fish ponds.

I think you misread my post. I said they should do fine. Gar and bowfin would likely do well too, as they survive in other northern waters that ice over. All fish need less oxygen at low temps, so the dinosaurs would probably be able to last without needing to gulp air.

A forage base is a good idea. Fatheads or golden shiners are the usual choice (or bluegill if it's meant to be a bass pond).

Probably the best thing to do is contact your state fish and game folks; in most states they have a pamphlet of recommendations for building and stocking fish ponds.

Woops. I thought you said they wouldn't be fine. I was wondering...

BigAl, what kind of large fish are you planning to put in this pond?

Depending on your definition of New England, gar and bowfin aren't native to most of the region anyways. Neither are fathead minnow, however golden shiner are and abundant.

Thanks for the help.

For fish I'd like to do SMB, brown bullhead, Chain Pickerel, and rainbow trout.

How deep of a pond should I have to keep it ice-free?

Depth won't keep it ice free, but a sufficiently deep pond will at least not freeze solid. Making it very deep will also help keep it from overheating in the summer (an important consideration for trout). I've never heard of SMB being raised in ponds.

The heck with ice free, you aren't going to keep keep rainbow trout through the summer unless you have a way to keep the pond cool enough (spring fed) or provide deep areas with sufficient oxygen. You could make it 20 feet deep it won't matter if the DO is < 4 consistantly.

Hi Folks:

Pretty much brand new to the NANFA forum.

I have access to 2 ponds which I have stocked with Rainbow Trout. The ponds are owned by a local farmer who has allowed me to plant trout there on a smile and a handshake. Its a privilege I don't intend to ever mess up and I keep a close watch on the land for him. Mine have been doing well for the last 4 years, except for one major problem ... winterkill last Feb or March. That cost me about 1,500 beautiful Rainbows in the main 3 acre pond that were all well above 18 inches and it was quite sad to see about 75 Seagulls eating the remains of my little beauties at the time of "ice-out" late last March.

So in mid-May, I restocked with only 300 going in the main pond to reduce the biological demand as they get bigger. I kept 6 for my home aquarium.

As a matter of note, the ponds are abondoned gravel pits which filled in when the diggers struck springs about 50 years ago, so they have gone fully back to nature. They are around 15 ft deep in some spots, but average would only be perhaps 8 to 10 ft. In this area, we get between 2 to 3 ft of ice over winter, depending on the seasonal variations. "Ice-in" usually happens in early to mid-November, "ice-out" in mid-April. No aeration system is used in these ponds, nor are they fed anything and survive on all natural food sources.

I'll toss in a few pix for your enjoyment.

The bag of fish contains about 100 Rainbow fingerlings around 4 to 5 inches ... cost was roughly 35 cents each from the Rainbow Troutr Farmer's Assoc to which I belong. The one which is the heartbreaker is the dead, decomposing trout... there were close to 200 of them right along the shoreline when I made the discovery of winterkill taking out the whole shebang in the main pond. The smaller 1 acre pond with only 200 fingerlings planted survived OK though.

I can't begin to convey how wonderful it is to spend time at the ponds on a summer's eve with the water like glass and watch those trout taking flies from the surface. Sometimes they come well out of the water and splash back in on their sides and look like scale model whales in some nature film spectacular. Better than 5 beers and a fist full of sleeping pills to calm you down after a tough day of making a living!

Hope that you like the pix.

Regards from
Radioguy

Here's an excellent forum for info on stocked ponds and native fish keeping.

http://www.pondboss..../ubbthreads.php

I've been digging out a small pond in the back yard here in Raleigh. It's probably about 4 feet deep in the middle, which should be fine for our mild winters I would think. I have to do some finishing work to level out the banks before I invest in a liner for it. So it doesn't yet have water or fish in it. It's just a crater in my back yard for now that the kids enjoy playing in.

Hi Folks:

Pretty much brand new to the NANFA forum.

I have access to 2 ponds which I have stocked with Rainbow Trout. The ponds are owned by a local farmer who has allowed me to plant trout there on a smile and a handshake. Its a privilege I don't intend to ever mess up and I keep a close watch on the land for him. Mine have been doing well for the last 4 years, except for one major problem ... winterkill last Feb or March. That cost me about 1,500 beautiful Rainbows in the main 3 acre pond that were all well above 18 inches and it was quite sad to see about 75 Seagulls eating the remains of my little beauties at the time of "ice-out" late last March.

So in mid-May, I restocked with only 300 going in the main pond to reduce the biological demand as they get bigger. I kept 6 for my home aquarium.

As a matter of note, the ponds are abondoned gravel pits which filled in when the diggers struck springs about 50 years ago, so they have gone fully back to nature. They are around 15 ft deep in some spots, but average would only be perhaps 8 to 10 ft. In this area, we get between 2 to 3 ft of ice over winter, depending on the seasonal variations. "Ice-in" usually happens in early to mid-November, "ice-out" in mid-April. No aeration system is used in these ponds, nor are they fed anything and survive on all natural food sources.

I'll toss in a few pix for your enjoyment.

The bag of fish contains about 100 Rainbow fingerlings around 4 to 5 inches ... cost was roughly 35 cents each from the Rainbow Troutr Farmer's Assoc to which I belong. The one which is the heartbreaker is the dead, decomposing trout... there were close to 200 of them right along the shoreline when I made the discovery of winterkill taking out the whole shebang in the main pond. The smaller 1 acre pond with only 200 fingerlings planted survived OK though.

I can't begin to convey how wonderful it is to spend time at the ponds on a summer's eve with the water like glass and watch those trout taking flies from the surface. Sometimes they come well out of the water and splash back in on their sides and look like scale model whales in some nature film spectacular. Better than 5 beers and a fist full of sleeping pills to calm you down after a tough day of making a living!

Hope that you like the pix.

Regards from
Radioguy

Here's an excellent forum for info on stocked ponds and native fish keeping.

http://www.pondboss..../ubbthreads.php

Very nice!
Where the adults in the first pics stocked as fingerlings? If so, you got excellent growth, especially in the girth. So many of the trout stocked by F&G around don't really get good growth.
What are the forage in your gravel pit ponds? Beside insects I bet you have alot of crayfish, scuds and other inverts. I bet the trout flesh is beautiful salmon red if you were to kill one.
Where are you located?

The heck with ice free, you aren't going to keep keep rainbow trout through the summer unless you have a way to keep the pond cool enough (spring fed) or provide deep areas with sufficient oxygen. You could make it 20 feet deep it won't matter if the DO is < 4 consistantly.

That is exactly correct.
In fact, in some cases in small ponds, once the pond stratifies in summer, the water below the thermocline can go anoxic and the trout are stuck between temp and DO requirements.
The local pond where I take my kids swimming is stocked every spring with rainbows. Around the 4th Of July every year, distressed rainbows start showing up pacing the edges of the pond looking for an outlet. They are usually washed up on shore within a week. That pond maxes at 20 feet and is a good deal larger than most fish pond. I know from snorkling that once the thermocline is established for a few weeks, the water below it is visably cloudy and stagnent looking.

Hi Mike:

Thanks for the good words.

You're right on the food base for the trout. It never fails to cause me to woder how Crayfish, minnows, etc ever got into the ponds in the first place, since they are several miles away from the nearest body of water.

The fish in the pics were all planted as figerlings. The biggest one came from my "small pond" where only 200 were stocked ... some winterkilled at the same time as those in the main pond, so I really don't know how many are left in that particular pond.

They went in at about 4 to 5 inches, by October of the first year they were generally about 10 inches, by the fall of the second year, around 18 to 20 inches average and beginning to put on nice weight.


Regards,
Radioguy

Hi Mike:

Thanks for the good words.

You're right on the food base for the trout. It never fails to cause me to woder how Crayfish, minnows, etc ever got into the ponds in the first place, since they are several miles away from the nearest body of water.

The fish in the pics were all planted as figerlings. The biggest one came from my "small pond" where only 200 were stocked ... some winterkilled at the same time as those in the main pond, so I really don't know how many are left in that particular pond.

They went in at about 4 to 5 inches, by October of the first year they were generally about 10 inches, by the fall of the second year, around 18 to 20 inches average and beginning to put on nice weight.


Regards,
Radioguy

I'm envious. I'd love to have access to a pond like that.
Check your PM

Thanks again Mike.

This is a test. Edit feature seems to have a time limit on it to be able to correct posted info and I'm past the limit it would seem.

Here's a picture of what 2,000 fingerlings look like enroute to their new home.

Radioguy

Edited by Radioguy, 10 March 2008 - 07:23 PM.

Detroit, Michigan
The ice is finally gone from my pond; it will re-freeze tonight. I have a 300, a 150 and a 120 gallon pond. The 150 gallon livestock water trough is 2 feet deep and buried 20 inches into the ground; from the smell, it is obvious that no fish can be over-wintered.

I plan on putting sunfish and shiners in the big ponds, and Elassoma zonatum in the 120 shallower pond. My ponds are for the fish; not for people to look at fish.