For your 1 ac I would nix the blk crappie - too much trouble in a smaller pond. Initially I would not start with too many species. IMO if you want bass then use LMB with BG / HBG or SMB with yellow perch (YP). Don't ever mix LMB and SMB; they don't naturally do well together; LMB always win and quickly crowd out the smallies. Keeping smallies in a LMB pond requires lots of restocking larger SMB.
If you can keep the weeds to a minimum, YP-SMB is a good combination. SMB can control the YP in a low weed pond. Provide spawning substrate for SMB - see old post info here. In spring or fall start with FHM , maybe some crayfish and fingerling YP 200-300/ac. Let the YP grow all summmer then add fingerling SMB 40-60/ac in the fall. YP will spawn the next spring. I don't suggest BG with SMB. BG are too hard for SMB to adequately control.
You could stock YP,FHM, and walleye (WE). With this combination you would probably have to help the WE thin out the smaller YP 3"-5" in there are only 10-25 WE/ac. WE seem to grow slow in a pond setting. You could periodically keep adding a few WE each year (4-8) until they have good control of the YP numbers. Not enough YP for angling, then too many WE, remove some WE. You want WE to grow slow, stay smaller so they eat primarily small YP. WE 13-16" is cleanable for table use. If you use SMB & WE you may not have enough small fish to adequately feed both with out pellet feeding the YP unless overall fish numbers are low.
Another possibility is YP, HBG, WE FHM. I would not add too many HBG maybe 50-80/ac and add more as you harvest them. Another option is FHM,YP,HBG, SMB. I suggest HBG because they produce only a few offspring that the SMB would be able to adequately control. Another possiblity that many do not discuss is the HBG-SMB. A good SMB population should be able to control the limited reproduction of HBG. This could work okay with or without pellet feeding.
As 'apond' mentioned above, punpkinseed sunfish are a possibility for stocking but they are very hard to locate at hatcheries - fish farms; practically no one sells them.
Underwater weeds make it hard for predators to locate preyfish. Don't let weeds get out of hand and not cover more than 25-30% of the pond bottom- best is 10-20% coverage.
If your preferernce is for BG then use LMB with them. LMB will grow bigger and faster if you stock pure BG. LMB will stay smaller sized if you use hybrid bluegill (HBG). I would not mix BG and HBG.
One good thing about your pond is if you don't like the fishery and want to make a change just don't aerate in winter and nature eliminates your fish so you can start over.
Last winter, did you try to remove snow on a regular basis? Keeping 10-20% snow free should do a lot to prevent most winter kills if ice isn't too cloudy. If the airline has dips in it on the way to the pond, those dips will collect condensate water and free solid plugs that prevent air flow.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 05/03/11 09:23 PM.
