Fishing Forum

How well does the mix of Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, and Perch do in a pond 1/4 of an acre. I also plan on adding about 2 lbs. of Fathead minnows to keep the bass off the bluegill and perch.
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You should realy do it in stages.

perch, gills and bass all feed on minnows.

I dont know what type of pond you are starting with, if it has vegitation yet or not.

you need a pond at least 25 foot deap or 14 foot deap either being cold spring fed with a run off or an airator/fountain.

small ponds need oxigen frist and formost.

if you want that combination of fish, you should first plant perch and minnows the first year and be aware that you will need a feeding program. Second year introduce hybred Gills "not standart" Highbred gills dont reproduce vary well but will grow huge, they will reach 14-18 inches in lenth in just a couple short years, they dont live long either so you will need to restock them as you harvest them.

Bass will eat the minnows, perch, gills and them selves, Bass will eat any thing that will fit in its mouth. Big bass will eat big gills.

the ratio of feeder fish to bass is 10 pounds per inch per year. This mean no matter what you do, these bass will turn and feed on everything else in the pond,

With out a regimental feeding program, your perch and gills will be come stunded and you will have 3 inch gills and 3 inch perch reporducing at alarming rates and you will have only one or two lunker bass that will feed on any gill or perch attempting to gain any size.

one 10 inch bass will eat 2 pounds of minnows in a month, provided it dosnt turn on the gills and perch, and no, they do not grow at the same rates.

to put things in to perspective, I buy 2 pounds of flat head minnows when ever I go ice fishing.

might I suggest you forget the bass, go with the perch crappie gills and dump 10 gallons of minnows. I would add one pair of adult yellow bullheads to keep the pond clean.
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I have been reading up on the hybrid gills and some people like them and some people hate them. I've heard that they can get bigger mouths and start competing with the bass for food.

"These hybrids possess characteristics of fast growth, hybrid vigor and are more aggressive in their feeding habits, which increase their vulnerability to angling. This strain has a larger mouth than true bluegill sunfish and readily consume commercial fish food as their primary diet, which is why they will out-grow true bluegill sunfish; but the difference is slight when not feeding a commercial fish food."

If I don't stock bass and stick with Perch, Hybrid Bluegill, and Fathead Minnows I could probably get away with it.

I was also wondering how the hybrid bluegill eats? I know some people just catch and release when fishing there ponds, but I plan to catch and eat some of the bigger fish to thin the population from time to time.

I'm not sure what spring fed actually means, but when my pond was dug it filled itself. If you watch around the base of the pond you could see water oozing from the sides. It only took about 3 days with no rain to fill. I have yet to measure but I am guessing it's about 1/3 of an acre. I do know that it is 16 feet deep in the middle. The pond was dug last October so it has been 8 months. I am assuming if I started with Fathead Minnows and a hybrid bluegill now and started a feeding program. Even with the lack of plant life the fish would do fine. And then in the spring I could introduce the Perch once the minnows are settled in.
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a spring fed pond will have a water flow, it will be constant.

digging a pond in to the water table will not have a flow. wich mean no exchange of water to keep it fresh and oxigenated. a pond dug in the water table will go up and downwith the water table in the area. I have seen water tables raise and fall as much as 10 feet in one season. Rains and Drouts extreamly affect water leves in these types of ponds.

one of the major problems with small ponds is they cant get enough oxigen, True plants will help, but in the late july in to agust there is a few weeks there that the plants will absorb oxigen.

Most lakes get their oxigen via wind and rain, but since small ponds dont have a big enough surface area they dont get the oxigen needed.

In the winter lack of oxigen is a serious problem when the water is not deap enough or is spring fed, that is why bubblers or fountains are used to keep the water oxigenated.

with out oxigen, fish litterly do drown in the water.

something as simple as a submercable sump pump with a fountan head or a hose nosle or sprinkler head on top will work fine.

You can go dig up a lilly pad and introduce it to your pond. or you can order from the

The reason I suggested on pair of Yellow Bullheads is because they will eat fish food and they will pick up the fish and eat them as they die off, "you will have a few fish die on you, it is inevitable. you will need a cleanup system and a pair of bull heads is just what the pond doc ordered.[]
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