Proper Fish Stocking & Feeding Procedures

Correct Water Temperature

• When you're stocking the pond, it's important that the water temperature in the pond and in the fish transport container, most often a sealed plastic bag, not differ by more than 5 degrees F to prevent the fish from going into shock and possibly dying. Place the sealed plastic bag into the pond and leave it there until the bag and the pond are the same temperature. "If you prefer, you can add water from the pond to the bag until the temperatures are within 5 F," according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. The fish will adjust to the water temperature in about 30 minutes.

  To measure the water temperature in your pond, you'll need a pond thermometer. These thermometers have a flotation device that snaps on, so the thermometer floats in the pond until you're ready for it.

Selecting Fish

• Determine what kind of fishing you want to do before choosing fish to stock your pond. If you're interested in catching fish for the table, choose a channel catfish or a common carp. If you're more interested in catching fish for both sport and food, choose a combination of largemouth bass, channel catfish and bluegill sunfish.

  After you have decided what types of fish that you'll stock, you'll need to know where to purchase these fish. Your best source will be a commercial fish hatchery. Visit the website of your state Division of Fish and Wildlife for a list of commercial hatcheries.

  You may think that catching your own fish to stock the pond would be easier and less expensive, but you can run into problems. Fish identification is not always easy, and you can catch a fish that might be diseased, injured or not compatible with other fish in your pond.

  If you've decided on a combination of bass, bluegills and channel catfish, a good ratio to aim for would be 500 sunfish, 100 bass and 100 channel catfish per acre.

Feeding

• Largemouth bass prey on smaller fish, so the stocked pond should contain forage fish. Bluegill sunfish reproduce easily, and the smaller sunfish provide food for the largemouth bass.

  Fathead minnows and golden shiners can also be used as forage for the largemouth bass, but you'll have the extra expense of restocking the pond as needed.

  Stocked fish can be fed commercial feed pellets. Stick to a schedule, and feed the fish at the same time and place every day. Place the food around the edges of the entire pond so that all the fish can be fed. Buy 1/8 inch pellets, which are easier for the smaller bluegill sunfish to eat.

  Fish eat better when feed is fresh, so use the feed within 90 days of purchase. If you're using three pounds of feed per acre, 50 pounds of feed should be enough for 16 days.