Posted: 7/1/2013 12:39:01 PM EDT
| I'm looking to stock a pond at our ranch with blue catfish, largemouth bass, and some sort of shad. Anyone have any idea where to get them in central/ south Texas? It's not a very big pond so I'm not looking for truck loads of them. |
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How big is the pond (cubic yards)? Do you know how deep? Is it deep enough not to dry out during a drought?
Where at exactly? We have stocked before at our family farm around Temple. The best bet would be to ask your county Ag agent or extension office or maybe the NRCS. |
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Here are a couple of links that might help.
TPWD site Texas aquaculture site Texas aquaculture availability list I had thought at one time that TPWD helped stock private lakes, but apparently not. |
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Be careful. Baby catfish (as in a few days old) can be canabilistic. Make sure you get some that are a little older. Also, put your catfish in first and let them get started before putting in your bass. Bass will eat baby catfish, so the catfish need to be too large for the bass to think they are a meal. Throw some perch and minnows in last. And be vigilant against turtles for the first few months, they can wipe out your stock pond quick.
Where to get all them? We used to sain one stock pond and take fish from one established pond to start a new one. Never did buy any. |
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Quoted:
As someone else said ..Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. And and FYI, when those bass start maturing, I'll be glad to come fish em out, measure them and throw them back so you'll know how they're doing. Don't want to eat em, just to feel that tug... Cheers I have a relative with a few stock tanks and a 5 acre lake on 27 acres. The big lake gets so many bass in it that they become stunted. We actually have to cull them. |
| Get some gambusia or flathead minnows as a forage base. The flatheads will all get eaten up in short order, the gambusia(mosquito fish) will last longer. Downside to the gambusia is that they eat other fish eggs. Both are tough fish with gambusia being the toughest. |
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My father in-law gets his from tractor supply... They call him when they are ready and he picks them up.
The fun part is getting rid of all the turtles before he puts the new fish in. We fish it out every year except for last it was way to dry and the pond all but said goodbye 
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Im on my second year with my pool..
100X100X12' I put in Fat head minnows and BLUE catfish together. cats are about a foot long and minnows seem to have bred. Turtle shooting is a weekly occurrence this summer,,hard to hit a quarter at 100'. 
Turtles will devastate a pond PDQ, killed my neighbors, now a big pool of algae and black water, even the turtles have abandoned it. I feed the cats twice a week. Monday and Friday at run rise. went thru 20lbs the first year fed once a week, small fish.., on my second sack for this year with the larger fish, more feed. looks like next summer is harvest time My reading says that this small a tank is cats and minnows only, Bass will clean out both quickly. I MAY throw a perch or two in there next year.. arrogation is my next financial challenge...solar set up that'll actually work seems to be running about $1000 to $1200 just popped up the links from above, somthing to consider, WITH Recent legislation under Obama's EPA and FDA and with Agenda 21, a real threat to private farming if you get the state involved in developing your pond, they rule over your pond....just an FYI |
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