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View Full Version : Looking for Advice on Tiger Trout to Brook Trout and Rainbow Trout Stocking Ratio for Private Pond


Bricklayer
09-23-2022, 11:48 AM
Hi Everyone, I have purchased a property with an aerated 1 acre dugout that is 16' deep. It was stocked with about 125 Rainbows fingerlings in April 2019, some of which are still alive I've seen eating flies a few times, havent caught any yet.

The dugout is fairly old, has weeds all around the edges and lots of shrimp in it. Seems like a nice little ecosystem. I will feed the fish too.

I want to stock it with a generous amount of trout for fishing in summer and winter, will eat them if they taste ok if not c&r.

Currently I am looking at stocking another 200 or so fingerlings this fall, either all Brook or Brook and Tiger.

I'm not much of a Trout fisherman but from what I understand the Brook are the better fish for eating, which apeals to me. I think I read also that they are easy to catch which I want..

I caught one tiger in a provincial stocked pond and it put up a really good scrap, would be nice to have them too. My concern is in 5 years I'll have big tigers that eat most or all of the fingerlings I try to stock the pond with...

Now, if the Brooks wont taste good out of a dugout anyway, maybe the Tigers would be far better due to the good scrap they put up. Also maybe I can avoid the canibalism if I buy larger fingerlings for stocking in the future...


What do you all think would bd a safe ratio of Tigers to other trout? Should I be concerned? I'd like to buy more rainbows next spring and continue to stock every year to have a good little fishing hole...

Thanks for any advice.

mlee
09-23-2022, 01:44 PM
Buddy of mine did a pond last summer...probably 1/2 acre size but 50% is 25 feet deep ....the rest is about 10-12....2 aerators in the deep water.
He did 200 rainbows and 100 browns. The fish wintered fine last winter and there are still lots in there this summer. I've eaten both and the browns are definitely much better tasting than the bows.

Bricklayer
09-23-2022, 02:09 PM
Interesting, I had read that browns don't taste as good.

Jims83cj5
09-23-2022, 08:21 PM
I have no idea if this maters but the tigers a very aggressive fish so if you put them in there will any future fingerling stockings just be feeding them?

WinefredCommander
09-24-2022, 07:40 AM
If you don’t aerate you’re wasting your time. I find most people overstock their pond’s especially if they aerate and fish live 3+ years. Rainbows feed at surface vs the other two species and will out compete them. If you want to promote brook or tiger don’t stock rainbow.

Bricklayer
09-24-2022, 10:53 AM
Ok good to know, thanks. It is Aerated, and I can see shrimp by just glancing at the water so I think the existing rainbows aren't eating all thats there. Hopefully the brooks and tigers will have enough food. I plan to feed daily as well.

The tigers eating future fingerlings is a concern, think I can mitigate this by buying larger stocking fish in future years.

Bricklayer
09-24-2022, 11:21 AM
I'm planning to stock 350 fish, which is what the fish farm recommended for my size dugout, considering there are some rainbows left

Smoky buck
09-24-2022, 12:34 PM
Oxygen levels, seasonal temps and the amount of waste created are the biggest factors what dictates fish numbers

It won’t matter what species of trout you stock they will target future fry numbers. When I owned an aquaculture outfit raising rainbow I kept my sizes separated for good reason. I have seen rainbow eat fish half there body length

350 is a very reasonable number for the information you provided. The truth is the higher you push the numbers the higher your risk is and added maintenance can be a factor

WinefredCommander
09-24-2022, 01:32 PM
I'm planning to stock 350 fish, which is what the fish farm recommended for my size dugout, considering there are some rainbows left

350 is way too many if they all reach 5lbs. I’d cut that in half.

Smoky buck
09-24-2022, 02:25 PM
350 is way too many if they all reach 5lbs. I’d cut that in half.

Completely disagree and odds of all 350 making it to 5lbs is very unlikely with an open pond. 10-20% loss would be doing well and will likely be higher in the time frame to reach 5lbs

As long as he keeps his oxygen at min 6 ppm there will be no complications and they will not generate enough waste to become an issue

I have personally produced 10k trout to the 3-5lbs mark in a pond that size. But this involves yearly cleaning the pond, bacteria to break down waste/algae, close observation of oxygen, and good aeration

During my time frame in the aquaculture industry I was a chairman for the freshwater industry, specialized in rainbow, one of BCs top producers, and DFO paid my flights/expenses to get my opinion many times to help improve hatchery systems

My advice is tested in the field and proven

Bricklayer
09-24-2022, 02:28 PM
Oxygen levels, seasonal temps and the amount of waste created are the biggest factors what dictates fish numbers

It won’t matter what species of trout you stock they will target future fry numbers. When I owned an aquaculture outfit raising rainbow I kept my sizes separated for good reason. I have seen rainbow eat fish half there body length

350 is a very reasonable number for the information you provided. The truth is the higher you push the numbers the higher your risk is and added maintenance can be a factor

Thanks for the info Smokey Buck. Should I stock a higher number now with the thought some will be eaten by the existing rainbows and hold off on stocking again until further down the road?

Smoky buck
09-24-2022, 02:34 PM
Thanks for the info Smokey Buck. Should I stock a higher number now with the thought some will be eaten by the existing rainbows and hold off on stocking again until further down the road?

I would stick to the 350 as it will provide you with a lower maintenance enjoyable pond

I always recommend starting with lower numbers especially when I am not testing the pond and maintaining it

Bricklayer
09-24-2022, 03:31 PM
I would stick to the 350 as it will provide you with a lower maintenance enjoyable pond

I always recommend starting with lower numbers especially when I am not testing the pond and maintaining it

Ok, Thanks for the advice.

singleshotom
09-25-2022, 11:14 PM
From my experence, having a fair sized dugout that's approx 1/2 acre and a max depth 32 ft.
Have had great luck with rainbows, and also tried some brook 2 yrs ago.
The biggest problem we had was with Blue Herons which unbelievably will kill many fish over 5 lbs by spearing them with thier beek in the shallows.
These fish float up the next day dead and some mornings you can find a dozen or more! We tried dying the water but that didn't seem to stop them.
That not being bad enough about 3 weeks after stocking 2 yrs ago, we discovered a bunch of cormorants found our fish! Well within 5 days we never saw a fish in the water. They got them all in a week, and we haven't stocked since.
Legally there is little to do except for covering the dugout entirely with a netting, which I don't plan on doing! The first few yrs were great lots of fish, great fun for the little kids.
Was fun to just throw out some feed and watch them jump an swirl for an hour in the evening.
Anyway good luck and hope those terrible birds don't find your fish!

Sundancefisher
09-26-2022, 02:39 PM
Depends upon the size of the fish stocked. Check with Smoky Trout Farm, Akenberry or Reisters to see what their recommended stocking ratio is for the size.

Rainbows will be the best growth and best eating. Browns live the longest. Brookies grow slow. Tigers appear to grow better.

You have a finite food supply in your pond. You may wish to consider feeding if size is important. Stop feeding a month before eating for better taste.

If you are all about fishing… stocking mixed species is great.

Make sure you apply now for a stocking license. They dictate what you can have.

Apply for rainbows, browns, brooks and tigers.

If size matters. Work with a hatchery to supply the biggest fish you can in the spring or fall.

If you don’t have aeration set up. Get that going also.