I'm taking from local ponds and transplanting feesh. Bass and bluegill..
Anybody done it this way? Experiences? Words of wisdom?

My pond is about 2/3 acre and 8 ft deep.. I'm not planning on any miracles and not spending any money to pull this off. Figuring it's gonna take years for the thing to sort itself out..

my pond is 320 feet by 180 feet and 16 feet deep , I put blue gill in it first year , they did great that fall I put one large mouth bass in it , 4 inches long , the next year my brother in -law caught the bass , it was 13, 1/2 inches , in one year , so we put more bass in the pond , we started with 125 gills ,still going good we started the pond in 2015

Get a forage base going first...suckers and fatheads.

Downside is you'll probably transplant parasites with the fish. But in all likelihood your pond will end up with them anyways. Probably start slow the first year, that seems fairly shallow if you get get a hard winter.

A mixture of Bluegills, largemouth, and channelcat. Just a couple cats. stocking fatheads first is a good idea, but the are not very smart and will get eaten in short order. I would also stock perch if possible, with habitat for protection.

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It has an excellent forum.

Keith

8' deep is a pretty shallow pond. Hopefully a lot of the 2/3 acre is that deep and not just a bowl shape. If you have any silt coming in the pond I can't imagine it not freezing out in a few years so stocking from other ponds is a good idea IMO. Crappies, perch, bass, and bluegills are all easy to get going. Just be sure to keep some of them out after they start reproducing, or they will all overstock themselves and be stunted small.

It's basically a hole in a field. No real dam..
Started out gonna be a half acre and 12 ft deep but hit hard shale at 8 and the dozer couldn't get through it.. I'm sticking with bass n gills. I know other shallower ponds in the area that hold fish so I'm not worried about it freezing out..

It's say 3/4 of it the sides drop right off to 8 and one side gradually rises.. Solid clay right to the shale or hard pan that's practically a concrete bottom..

Pond is meant to be a hang out spot out back. Pavilion and fire pit little party pad and a swimming hole.. So I'm not going overly crazy with habitat and such but be cool to drown a worm and have something to bite it..

Sounds like a fun place you're making. If you'd add a few channel cats 10-15 and set up a place on the dock to feed them, they are fun to feed and get massive but don't reproduce in ponds hardly at all so you don't have to worry about over population on them. I'd add a couple grass carp too so its not all mossy. Oh and speaking of docks and feeding fish, build a lantern hanger that hangs out over the water off the dock, its cool to see the fish come in the dark and eat the bugs the lantern kills and drop into the water.

I like that lantern idea...

And think I will add a grass carp or 2 after a few yrs.. At that time maybe a fee channel cats too.. For now think I'm gonna stick with bass n gills..

My thoughts was get em I'm before they spawn..

Have stocked several ponds they way you are suggesting over the years and works out fine. Usually a fishable population in 2-3 years. Plenty of bugs/ plankton for base of chain for bluegills to feed on and first spawn will have plenty of bluegill for the bass. 3-4 doz bluegill and a couple dozen bass will start you off fine, especially if released this spring before the spawn. Like you are thinking make sure bluegill are well established before adding any other predators to the system. Would avoid grass carp unless vegetation makes it unfishable. Once they are mature they require enough lb of vegetation in a day that won't be much habitat for the y.o.y fish to hide in so your game fish population will drop unless you put other fish holding structure in there.