Stocking Tiny Ponds

By Ian

   A bass pond costs a lot of money. Make no mistake about it. Bass need space - any pond 2 acres or less is seriously frowned upon. The rate to excavate ponds of less than 20 acres is $3,000 to $5,000 per acre. That's a lot of money. Bass also need a lot of protein, and the baitfish needed to sustain a population of bass isn't cheap, at $500 worth of fish for every acre. That really isn't cheap. Feed trained bass need pellets with high protein, which is expensive.

  As mentioned in the previous article, catfish are very hardy - and cheap. It is agreeable to put channel catfishes in ponds .1 - 1 acre, small enough that you could dig with shovels and friends, rather than hiring contractors. They also can eat a diet of cheap grain based pellets. They also root around the pond to supplement their diet. Channel catfish - only ponds are doable, and if you buy fingerlings, you could raise them for meat. 

en.wikipedia.org

   6"-8" Channel Catfish are also cheap - $65 for 100. 4"-6" is like $2.75 each. Channel Catfish are nice and cheap, and are easy to catch. You could also raise lunkers in your pond, since channel cats can exceed 30 pounds. They make good eating, too.

  Next you are stocking a tiny pond, perhaps think about catfish!

Tight lines,

Ian