Well, it's Christmas '06, the pond excavation is completed and the slow process of filling is underway. I definitely have the water quantity to establish a forage base. The plan, after much good discussion on the Alright; talk Fathead to me thread, is to enter a forage stocking strategy as soon as practical this coming spring. But, before I can zero in on the food chain plan, it might be a good idea to plan on the dinner guests. This thread will be my platform for pond resident selection. We already started to skirt this fish selection stuff on the FH thread noted above. I don't want to lose that good start, so I am gonna cut/paste the pertinent posting below. Bski says:
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OK, now that the court room has settled, the truth is I don't know what I want from this puddle. That's why I'm here (did I just say that out loud?). Here is what I do know. I am creating a potential diamond. I have the raw hunk of carbon between my fingers. I will have one good chance to hone the facets. I am going into this as a non-fisher with the desire to be a fair-weather fisher. I will not be a full timer there for many years. I need a product that is relatively low maintenance. There is no electricity, and I don't anticipate juice for a couple of years. It is low and sheltered by tall timber; wind is fairly restricted, but not non-existant by any means. I have about 6 feet of water over about an acre, then another 3 acres with 3 ft or less. We continue to get good precip thru the midwest. It is realistic to think that I might pick up another 1 or 2 feet before the snow flies. I imagine a prolonged, hard freeze will penetrate about 12"? (tune-up by midwesterners, please). I keep going back to the classic BG, LMB, CC mix. Donna-ski and I are not really not fish-eaters, but we do enjoy fried catfish and perch...the "low fishiness", bland-ish fish meats. She and I both fished alot when we were kids. I would like to see this come back, full circle at mid-life.
Ewest says
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Do you like YP ? With low maintenance as a goal I would think about skipping BG and LMB. They require maintenance more than most.
SMB ,HSB, CC, YP , HBG , RES and FH might work for low maintenance and variety.
Bski says:
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I will admit that waaay back when, as the pond idea was hatching in my little brain, YP was the plan. This thought, tho, was based solely on the fact that we both enjoy the taste and it was the predominant catch as kids. Kinda funny, lake perch is one of the top priced fish dishes in restaurants around here. As I read more about YP on these forums, it starts to come off as potentially problematic for the low-maint. pond.
Bill Cody says:
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My experiences with YP in smaller ponds are that when YP are stocked with LMB the LMB eventually over control the YP in ponds 1 ac or less. That is not always the case when other fish are used as the primary predators. There can be lots of variation of the long term (10+yrs) success of YP & LMB due to individual pond variables. Usually the amount of success of YP with LMB is dependant to on how extensive the weed beds are in the pond, how diverse the forage base is and how the LMB are managed. More weeds and a higher forage base will result in more YP that survive to cleanable size 8"+ for the long term picture. I consider YP thriving when you can catch numerous 10"-14" YP. The size of the pond and diversity or complexity of the ecosystem also probably make a difference in how long the YP are able to maintain their status as a common occurrence in the harvestable panfish fishery. YP may survive better and longer in larger ponds (greater than 2 ac).
Britskii can do an original stocking of YP, BG and minnows (&or Shiners) with LMB. However, I would not add LMB until the YP have spawned for the first time. YP will then do good for a fair amount of time - usually until the original stock and first year class is removed or dies of old age (6-10 yrs). When the LMB have produced several strong year classes of 10"+ individuals, then the population of YP is often marginal. This is when the initial stocking of BG orRES is helpful because they will then be the backbone of the forage fish community to support the LMB.
Theo asks:
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How about YP with SMB and perhaps RES, Mr. Cody?
Bill responds:
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Theo, I have not sampled or managed a pond with a combinaion of RES, YP and SMB. I see no reason why it would not work. The only reason that I would be hesitant with that combination is RES are sort of difficult to easily catch. RES also do not bite very well in cold temps, where as BG and especially YP are fairly easy to catch in cool and cold water.
Bski asks:
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Aren't there temperature issues with YP? I thought that they were sensitive to warmer waters. ie; midwestern ponds.
Ewest responds:
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Not to much. YP upper temps. 30 degrees Celsius = 86 degrees Fahrenheit +-.
This is about where the constructive stuff ended and the highly anticipated goofin' began. Ain't it always the way. If I missed some good constructive stuff from that thread, please help me out and bring it on over here and post it. - - Now, may I request that we pick it up from here and continue? I have a few more thoughts on my goals, so I will restate my desires. I like: BG, YP, CC, and maybe Smallies? I am more focused on good eating; not so much on prize winning trophies like LMB. I want low maintenance. I am going to be promoting waterfowl propagation, so there will be periods of tiny ducklings in the water. I think I gotta preclude LMB since they see tiny ducklings as a snack. Would SMB pose a similar threat? Can a somewhat self sustaining pond of 5 acres be composed of, oh say, BG, YP, and SMB?
