Originally Posted By: Bill Cody


IMO the first thing to evaluate is about how many of the 1,100 YP are still present. You are going to best DIY evaluate this in your 1ac pond by counting the number of spring spawn egg ribbons and more accurately watching about how many YP are showing up at pellet feeding 2-3 weeks after the spawn i.e. post spawn, and how long each quart of pellets lasts once they hit the water. In most small ponds (0.3-0.7ac) a high density of YP can consume about a gallon of pellets in 10-20 minutes.

Once you have a visual estimate of the YP numbers then you can safely harvest 20%-30% of the population. Another item to help evaluate the harvest number is how abundant do the 6"-8" perch appear to be either at feeding time or caught by angling? These smaller YP are the ones that will grow to harvestable size for the next year. If you are not seeing or catching numerous 6"-8" YP then reduce the number of YP that are harvested for that year.


Bill, this is exactly what I needed. Thank you. I'm printing it off and will follow it.
My guess is that I lost quite a large percentage of my YP right after stocking. I have never seen more than a few dozen YP rise when the feeder has gone off. After I caught 30 earlier this fall, I saw even fewer at the feeder. I'll have numerous branches in the water in February, and I'll see what happens. I was running the feeder for just a one second burst. I would guess 50% of the feed (am 500) was getting eaten by YP, the rest was pushed around and eventually eaten by many, many FHM.
Thanks again

9 yr old pond, 1 ac, 15' deep.
RES, YP, GS, FHM (no longer), HBG (going away), SMB, and HSB (only one seen in 5 yrs) Restocked HSB (2020) Have seen one of these.
I think that's about all I should put in my little pond.
Otter attack in 2023