Fish
Fish can be stocked throughout Central Texas at all times of the year with few exceptions for certain temperature sensitive species. Stocking your lake is the most rewarding and important decision when establishing your ecosystem. While it's easy to get carried away and go straight into adding game fish, don't forget establishing your forage fish is the most important part. Often times, people are impressed by how quickly they are able to see a return on their investment when they take the time to establish their food chain appropriately from the beginning. You'll notice there is no set formula for stocking your lake, that's because it is important to tailor the plan for your lake and personal goals. No matter whether you are looking to create a trophy bass lake, kid-friendly fishing, or just a well balanced lake, feel free to contact me and we can create a personalized plan for your goal.
Game FishLargemouth Bass
Largemouth bass or black bass are the most common game fish stocked in Texas lakes. The native largemouth bass, Florida largemouth bass, or crosses of the two are most commonly stocked. In most situations bass need to be stocked in lakes at least one surface acre or larger. In smaller lakes maintaining proper forage fish populations becomes difficult and expensive. The most common forage fish for largemouth bass is bluegill sunfish. Using a diverse food chain of bluegill sunfish, redear sunfish, fathead minnows, and golden shiner minnows can prove to be very beneficial in initial stocking. Forage species such as threadfin shad, tilapia, large bluegill sunfish, crawfish and freshwater prawns can be beneficial options for supplemental forage stocking.
Crappie
Crappie in general are difficult to manage in most private lakes. Usually crappie will overpopulate and eventually exhibit stunted growth. Using black crappie is somewhat safer because they tend to reproduce less than white crappie. The use of a hybrid crappie a cross between black x white is considered to reproduce even less then the pure strains. However, it is recommended to attempt stocking crappie into lakes only after thoroughly discussing the possible outcomes of crappie stocking.
Channel Catfish
Channel catfish are a fairly easy to manage fish. Channel catfish can be stocked in any size lake. They rarely affect forage fish populations as they are slow swimmers. The most common forage fish used with channel catfish are fathead minnows. Channel catfish should not be stocked alone with forage fish such as bluegill sunfish or golden shiner minnows. These forage fish will reproduce too often and cannot be efficiently captured by channel catfish. Channel catfish eat a diet containing insects, mollusk, crustaceans, fish, and some vegetation.
Blue Catfish
Blue catfish are much more aggressive than channel catfish. They also swim faster and grow larger. The blue catfish is considered a good tool to control populations of bluegill sunfish in small ponds. However, stocking blue catfish with largemouth bass is not recommended because the two species will directly compete for food.
Hybrid Striped Bass
Hybrid Striped Bass can be a great tool to control bluegill sunfish or crappie populations. In most cases the hybrid striped bass stocked in lakes will be a feed trained fish which will consume a floating pelleted fish food. The stocking of hybrid striped bass should be done only after discussing the possible outcome of their addition to a stocking program.
Rainbow Trout
Rainbow trout can be a fun short term game fish to be stocked during the winter. Rainbow trout usually are feed trained and will eat a floating fish food pellet. They will not survive the Texas summer and usually die at 70 degrees, therefore they are a winter only option and must be restocked yearly.
Vegetation ControlTriploid Grass Carp
Triploid Grass Carp or White Amur are one of the best management tools to control vegetation eating 40-300% of their body weight in vegetation a day. These fish are sterilized by a shock treatment to a fertilized egg. Only sterile triploid grass carp are allowed to be stocked in Texas. To purchase grass carp you must first apply to the State of Texas for a grass carp permit. After the approval of the application Triploid Grass Carp can be purchased only from designated companies determined by the State. Grass Carp can be used to control most submerged vegetation effectively, however algae is not a preferred food for grass carp. Grass Carp can be stocked at 10 fish per surface acre to control dense vegetation. If grass carp are stocked in a moderate to low vegetated lake then 7 fish per acre can be effective. Before applying for a grass carp permit a barrier must be installed on all spillways, drainage pipes, or other areas where water may leave your lake. Please feel free to contact me at any time with application or barrier questions. To download the triploid grass carp application please click the link below.
Tilapia
Mozambique tilapia can be stocked into private lakes in Texas. These fish eat varous types of vegetation especially algae and duckweed. Tilapia can also feed on some submerged vegetation, phytoplankton, and floating fish food. They also reproduce multiple times throughout the summer making them an excellent supplemental forage fish. In addition to being excellent forage fish, and vegetation control tilapia can also be considered a game fish. However, all tilapia species cannot survive the winter temperatures in Texas and tend to die below water temperatures of 50 degrees. Tilapia will need to be restocked every spring.
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Forage FishCoppernose Bluegill Sunfish
Coppernose Bluegill Sunfish are one of the most commonly stocked forage fish in Texas. Bluegill are also referred to as perch or bream. The Coppernose bluegill are selected for their rapid growth, maximum growth, and high reproductive rates. Coppernose bluegill can grow to 2 lbs, if given floating fish food. Naturally bluegill sunfish eat mainly aquatic insects. These bluegill also reproduce multiple times throughout the Spring, Summer, and early Fall. These fish will reach maturity at two years old or approximately 3 inches. Bluegill can also make great game fish when managed correctly.
Redear Sunfish
Redear Sunfish or Shellcrackers are excellent at controlling snail populations in lakes. Snails are found in almost every lake in Texas. Most of these snails carry parasites such as yellow grubs. Yellow grub eggs come from water birds. These eggs hatch and become free swimming grubs that will die within hours if a snail host is not found. The yellow grub grows inside the snail then leaves its snail host to find fish. Once a fish host is found the grub will burrow into the skin, gills, and muscles of fish and finally multiply. The yellow grub is not usually deadly to the fish host. Redear sunfish also make excellent game fish as they can become larger than their bluegill relatives.
Fathead Minnows
Fathead minnows are a common forage fish used in almost all initial stocking programs. These slow swimming minnows can reproduce up to 12 times per summer having as many as 12,000 eggs per nest. Although they have a high reproductive potential they do not last long in the presence of bass, crappie, blue catfish, or hybrid stripes. Therefore it is usually important to add additional forage species when stocking for aggressive game species.
Golden Shiner Minnows
Golden Shiner Minnows are the most common baitfish used in Texas and sold at almost every bait store. Golden shiners can also make good forage fish because they can grow large, up to 8 inches. This makes some adult shiners too large to be captured by bass for many years. Golden shiners feed on diverse food sources such as vegetation, insects, and snails.
Hybrid Bluegill Sunfish
Hybrid Bluegill Sunfish are a cross between bluegill and green sunfish. Green sunfish have larger mouths and eat varies food types. These fish are not a good option for stocking with bass, crappie, or blue catfish because they have reduced reproductive success compared to bluegill. However they can be stocked with channel catfish because they will not tend to overpopulate.
Threadfin Shad
Threadfin Shad are a preferred forage fish of largemouth bass. Threadfin grow to a maximum size of about 6-8 inches. They feed directly on phytoplankton in open water. Threadfin begin to reproduce when water temperature reaches 70 degrees and will continue throughout the summer. The shad will lay their eggs in early morning in shallow water in large schools. They will build a large population fairly quickly. These fish are somewhat temperature intolerant and tend to die around 42 degrees. If winter waters temperatures do fall below 42 degrees it will be recommended to restock threadfin shad.
Crawfish
Crawfish are omnivores, which mean they can and will eat anything. Insects, fish, plants, and detritus (decaying matter on the lake bottom) will all become food for crawfish. Studies show that bass prefer crawfish over bluegill 9 to 1 and even 24 to 1. Logistically if that is true then by stocking crawfish into a lake survival of bluegill is greatly increased. Crawfish will thrive in lakes with vegetative, rocky, or wood cover; lack of cover equals short life expectancy due to predation. Crawfish do need excellent water quality so bottom diffusion aeration is preferred. The risk of stocking crawfish typically come from certain species ability to borrow and their tendency to carry parasites and diseases. They are typically stocked at 50 lbs per surface acre, April through May.
Freshwater Prawns
A new comer to the forage species world; prawns have quickly become a staple at trophy fisheries. Bass react to them as aggressively as they do crawfish. Prawns are omnivorous and eat a great deal of detritus. The benefit of prawns over crawfish would be their softer exoskeletons and the fact that they do not borrow. Prawns typically are purchased at 1-2 inches in length. They are grown in growout ponds and transported to bass fisheries following 3 to 6 months. They do grow quickly and can get to a 12+ inch individual over a 6 month time. Prawns will not survive in colder temperatures and will not reproduce in purely freshwater. Therefore they must be restocked every spring from specialized suppliers.
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