Stocking a private pond

YZKEN250 · Post by **YZKEN250** » Sun Jun 20, 2010 5:29 pm

I just moved into a new place about 1/4 mile from Lake Comanche. On the property is about a 2 acre lake, There are no fish in this lake only small minnows. My question is can I put bass in this lake? I checked the DFG website and came across some places that sell bass. Does anyone know if this is ok? I want my kids to be able to catch fish in their backyard since I dont have a boat to take them to the lake anymore. Thanks

drew · Post by **drew** » Sun Jun 20, 2010 5:56 pm

From a legal stand point I don't know. I guess it depends on who owns or controls the pond. From a feasibility standpoint the pond will need more then just minnows to sustain a LMB population. If you are legally allowed to plant, I would start with blue gill or some type of sunfish. You might have to wait a few years to build up the forage base before introducing the LMB. I would also set a crayfish trap to see if they exist in the pond as a secondary source of forage.

YZKEN250 · Post by **YZKEN250** » Sun Jun 20, 2010 6:02 pm

Thanks Drew. There are more frogs in this pond at night than any bass could eat.

Spookin'Em43 · Post by **Spookin'Em43** » Sun Jun 20, 2010 7:06 pm

I know a lot of people with ponds, and as far as i know (and I could be wrong, but im pretty sure) you cannot catch fish from somewhere else then bring them to your pond, but it is legal to buy from fisheries/dfg and have them stocked that way. BUT, nobody really goes pond to pond checking to see if you have documentation of how your fish got in there, cause i know a few of the ponds I fished have been stocked by fish caught from other lakes.

bassman619 · Post by **bassman619** » Sun Jun 20, 2010 7:30 pm

buy several dozen crawdads let them go in the pond give them a couple seasons to procreate and then stock the bass....

coyoteslayer · Post by **coyoteslayer** » Sun Jun 20, 2010 8:16 pm

If its your property, you can buy fish and dump them right in there. Like they said above you can't transport fish from a lake to your pond though. Good advise above, sun fish, crayfish, or any kind of forage and those fish will take off and grow like crazy. Your kids will have a blast too!

gt1984 · Post by **gt1984** » Sun Jun 20, 2010 9:46 pm

It has been a few years since we owned our property whcih had a 3.8 acre lake and 25 ft at it deepest points. The keys to our success was 1.water inflow and outflow 2. pre graded some spawning flats and ledges. 3. took peoples old christmas trees, weighted them and strategically placed 4. had mosquito abatement come out and dump mosquito fish 5. Got a permit from DFG to transport fish in large round clean garbage cans that included air pumps for oxygen/ got fish from a number of places-other ponds that were losing water/places approved by DFG i.e. over populated lakes with certain species/this included LMB-catfish-various sunfish-crappie (black and white) 6. Stocked fish were 6" to 6lbs for size diversity 7. Biologist recomended that lakes/ponds under 10 acres to catch and keep any LMB over 5lbs to keep the lake healthy, otherwise you will get a stunted fishery as they will eat 1 1/2 times their weight a day in food. Small ponds can't produce forage at that rate to sustain giant bass.

When we adhered to and heeded the biologist plan, we maintained a healthy lake for years until the day we sold the property.

acm95301 · Post by **acm95301** » Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:28 am

You need a permit to transport live gamefish, and your limited by regulation on daily take..usually 5 fish limit, and if your pond or lake has a stream or nearby water way, you may not stock because of the fear of releasing into a natural waterway.

Jay Rowan · Post by **Jay Rowan** » Mon Jun 21, 2010 10:36 am

It depends on where exactly your pond is located.
See the link below under "Private stocking"

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/fish/Administration/Permits/

You said that your near Cammanche, so if your in Amador or Calaveras County and are west of Hwy 49 you don't need a private stocking permit at this time. That will likley change in the near future.
If you are East of Hwy 49 then you would need a private stocking permit. New private stocking permits are on hold at this time while we sort through the details of the stocking lawsuits and EIR.

As far as where to get the fish, you could go to a private aquiculturist and purchase them or you can go the route of a previous post and get a permit for the collection of wild brood stock. The conditions of the brood stock permit would be in the permit so you would not be limited to the 5 fish daily bag limit. You can't move live fish under your fishing licence.

There are some really good publications out there like Pond Bass magizine and at the link below under leaflet #23 farm fish pond management in California.
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/fish/Administrati ... /index.asp

If you have any other questions you can contact me directly and I'd be happy to help.
jrowan@dfg.ca.gov