could someone please give some advice on stocking please .
i have just got a spring fed 2 acer 20+ foot deep 15 foot at only 10 foot from the bank gin clear water ,
i have 140 rainbows coming on monday 1 to 2 lbs i have no idea on what the stock should be for a lake of this size could some one please help with some advice
thanks in advance
steve

......about 40,000 should be just fine.......It works for the carp fisheries...

About 100 fish to the acre is the recommended amount mate, so you arent far off with 140. Good luck with your wee fishery.

Its difficult to give a precise reply to your question because of all the variables that need to be taken into account. The most important element for fish survival is oxygen. You must have fresh oxygenated water constantly running into your lake with this you can stock at 100 fish 12" long per acre. Fish also need natural food or trout pellets to survive. If you are tempted to put more fish in than this you may find that they loose weight and worse die. In hot weather I would recommend that numbers are reduced unless large amounts of fresh water are being introduced. With so many variables to consider you can only get an expert opinion or suck it and see.

140 should be ok,.. 100 per acre is about the norm though....... you have good depths for oxygenation.

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thanks to all think might get a few big browns for a surprise catch then that will do.

My club has a similar pool, it's 3 acres, ranges from about 15 foot deep to 5 foot, has a strong weed growth and lots of natural food. It is spring fed and generally clear but we do have issues when the weed grows up and the oxygen gets depleted later in the year.

We stock about 120 to start the season (February 1st) averaging 1kg to make them less liable to become cormorant fodder. We fish C&R until March and then allow members to take one fish per visit. We then stock again every month until July with about 60 or 70 fish getting smaller as the season goes on as the smaller fish are better able to deal with the oxygen issues. Taking into account what we know of natural deaths, predation and anglers taking fish our maximum stock is probably around 125kg per acre plus some overwintered fish.

Most of the fish do get on to natural food and from a total stocking of about 450 fish we record over 1,000 fish caught. We had an overwintered fish last year that thumped 7lb scales to the limit.

The general rule is that for non-commercial fisheries up to about 100 12" - 14" fish per acre is OK. If the fishery is commercial or allows anglers to take a few fish this figure can go up to 150 or even 200 per acre as most of the fish are caught and removed before they start to feed naturally and therefore are no burden to the fishery. I was told by one commercial fishery manager that he thought about 90% of the fish he stocked didn't make it to the end of the first week.

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There is no such thing as a stocking density figure that fits every lake / stillwater.

One thing you failed to mention, are you looking at running it commercially, syndicate or for you & a few mates to fish as & when.

For a 2 acre lake of your description I would start at 50 fish an acre & build it slowly from there. Your 140 fish for a 2 acre water is not a bad call.

I operate a 5 acre syndicate water & it has a rod average pushing 5 fish per person over its mid September to June season, that fishery produces that rod average on a maximum of 80 fish per acre, however I limit it to 3 members a day.

I know of few commercial fisheries who operate on much above 100 fish per acre often quoted

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Hoses for courses , The figures being mentioned lean more to commercial levels , I help run a syndicate of 10 acres every year and we stock about 200 fish early season about march with additional top ups of 125 approx on june and september . When the fishing is good in april/may catches of a dozen plus are the norm , but like most places it slows down in mid summer then picks up again at the backend . Mind you we only have 25 members of which only about 10 of us fish it regularly . If you are going down the syndicate route try stocking with grade A fish , you will reep the rewards long term . We tend to stock with fish in the 2lb to 3lb category , it seems to curtail the cormorants . Weve only been going 3 years but we are now getting the odd fully finned and tailed 5-6lb fish that fight like demons . Makes the work worthwhile . Whatever you plan doing i wish you all the best.

HM

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