re: Pond construction: is 1/2 an acre ok?

quote:

---

Why not put white perch in a pond?

---

Been a while since I dealt with this(BIL built a pond with assistance from an expert), but it goes something like this:

1. Never put crappie in a pond.
2. If you must put crappie in a pond, which you shouldn't do, put black crappie in your pond.
3. If you must put black crappie in your pond, which you shouldn't do, also put hybrid stripers in there as well.
4. If you must put crappie in your pond, never ever throw one back after catching.

Bass are not a good regulator of crappie because they do not occupy the same parts of the pond for very long each year. Crappie eat just about anything. The hybrids will venture out into the nothingness where the crappie will school up and eat them.

quote:

---

Been a while since I dealt with this(BIL built a pond with assistance from an expert), but it goes something like this:

1. Never put crappie in a pond.
2. If you must put crappie in a pond, which you shouldn't do, put black crappie in your pond.
3. If you must put black crappie in your pond, which you shouldn't do, also put hybrid stripers in there as well.
4. If you must put crappie in your pond, never ever throw one back after catching.

Bass are not a good regulator of crappie because they do not occupy the same parts of the pond for very long each year. Crappie eat just about anything. The hybrids will venture out into the nothingness where the crappie will school up and eat them.

---

I've always heard that, but here is my personal anecdotal experience:

Have a 5 acre pond that is now approximately 30 years old. It is pretty deep for a pond, we sold dirt for a bridge and they dug out a hill for us. It was also built for cattle so it slopes in on one side down to about 20 feet.

We have stocked white perch (along with bream, bass and catfish) in it many times over the years and used to be able to catch a few good sized ones. However, we haven't caught any in a couple of years now. We would love to have more white perch. I've sunk structure in it over the years so it's not just a empty bowl.

Our current problem is too many bass. I've been on a mission the past two years to catch and eat as many as I can.

quote:

---

I've been on a mission the past two years to catch and eat as many as I can.

---

Even if you don't keep them to eat, do not throw back. Have had real life experience with this. It doesn't take long to get them back on a normal growth.

I'm not a pond expert, but my friend is, he works for the largest pond management company in GA as a field tech. He said don't put crappie in the pond. If you have crappie in a pond, catch and keep 100% of them. Invite a local cub scout troop to come over one weekend and catch and keep 100% of the crappie. Whatever it takes to catch and kill as many as possible. Take that for what it's worth.

According to the LSU pond management guide, white perch should only be stocked in ponds fifteen acres and larger.

Sounds like they didn’t have anywhere to spawn successfully in your pond, and you were more or less growing them out. From what I’ve read and seen crappie are notorious boom or bust spawners. There are gaps in the sizes in our pond, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn they’re from a couple good spawn years spread out over the last 5,

They exist, but they are the hardest to get invited to.

I've managed several ponds over the years. My dad worked for USDA Soil & Conservation Service and learned a lot from him.

My SIL pond is 1/3 acre and produces big bream and a variety of bass. I also managed our neighborhood lake which at one time held 3 state record crappie (before they eliminated private waters from the list). it was 7.5 acres. I also managed my friends pond which was 1.6 acres. I was also involved in consulting for the BREC Conservation Program and the 13+ ponds they manage across EBR Parish.

A few things to consider:
1. Alkalinity is the limiting factor to fish production. Most soils in Louisiana have low pH. Adding lime before - even after if it's ag lime - to a pond will greatly increase the quality of fish. A good measure is 80 ppt/liter of CaCO3. But even 50 ppt hardness will do well.

2. Make the pond deeper than what LDWF suggests. The deepest part should be 8 feet. But don't dig it all 8 feet. Fish do better in ponds with "bathometry". For this reason, make a safety shelf along shorelines, a couple of mid-pond humps and a couple of deep holes (8 feet).

3. Add structure. PVC pipe makes excellent fish structure and outlasts wood and doesn't hang up lures as much. Sand down the piping so algae has a better base for growth. Vegetation makes for complex structure. I like potato weed for a shoreline grass.

4. In small ponds - less than 2 acres - don't stock crappie. Not just for reasons others have mentioned. A pond has so much carrying capacity. Of course, that capacity increases if you lime, fertilize, aerate and have structure (in that order). But what you add in crappie mass is taken from bream and bass mass. I'd rather a pond with big bream and bass and no crappie.

5. If you have a big enough pond and you want crappie, stock channel catfish. They are effective predators of juvenile crappie. Just make sure to keep a few catfish as they can get out of control as well.

6. Every 10 years, drain the pond. Organics build up on the bottom and can lower the production. Let the pond bed dry up for at least 3 months. When the pond refills, restock. You'll be surprised how fast the fish grow in a renewed pond.

7. If you want big bream, dont stock bluegill. Stock redears instead. They only spawn twice a year, so they put more energy into growth. Since they don't produce a very large feedstock for the bass, you may have to stock fathead minnows. But a diverse feedstock in a pond is always a very good thing for bass!

My 2 pesos...

Pond construction starts tomorrow. Looks like it will be kidney shaped, approx 50x100, shelf around the edges, deep in middle, average of ~10’. Can’t wait!