The purpose of this thread is to ask for advice for my own new pond which was completed about 3 weeks ago. Last week we had the wettest 4 day period in several years the pond is already full. The pond I'm managing in the earlier thread above is directly upstream of my pond. Like my neighbor's pond I would like to keep mine native, but I ultimately don't have control over what gets stocked above me. I'll do my best to keep them both native, but in the end I'll have to make the best out of what I'm given.
Even though my goal is an indigenous pond, I've already stocked Fatheads into both ponds. I did this with the belief that the FH won't survive for more than a few years after native predators are added. I've only added about 100 adult FH to my pond so far, but I will be moving more from my neighbor's pond soon. I could stock Gambusia which are native, but my impression is that Gams will work against the diversity that I'm aiming for. OTOH, they usually show up in ponds around here on their own anyway. So, vote if you care to; Gams or no Gams.
Warmouth, Redear Sunfish, Florida Gar, and Chain Pickerel are on the list of preferred fish with lunker WM as my highest goal. I will consider all native fish, but I do want to keep good angling in mind. For example Spotted Bullheads are native but I'm afraid they would dominate the pond and the fishing, interfering with my goal of trophy Warmouth fishing.(?)
I'm in the Ochlockonee river basin and here is the info I'm working with currently:
Ochlockonee fishes
To be honest I'm confused whether the fish listed at the link above are truly indigenous species or not. Now that I think of it, the terms native and indigenous are only relative to what area you're discussing. For example, are RES indigenous to Grady county, or are they simply a native (U.S.) fish that has spread to include Grady county? Maybe I'm being too picky...
Anywho, here are some statistics for the pond:
-1/3 to 1/4 acre
-8 ft at deepest, 5 ft average depth
-water is supplied by 15 - 20 acres of woodland, cultivated land, and cow pasture (30-40 cows)
-the primary spillway is a siphon system that drains excess water from 6 ft below the surface
-it's surrounded by tall oaks and pines which will shade it about half of the day
(clickable thumbnail)
Thanks.
Edited by fish for brains, 24 February 2008 - 10:34 AM.