Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Walleye?

Was just wondering if anyone as tried putting WE in their ponds farther south say Texas/ Arkansas area in warmer water? And if you have did you have any luck or did they die off at a certain temp?

Thanks,
RC

I have not personally stocked WE here in VA into ponds as my research indicates it would be a waste of time as our summer water temps in ponds often exceed 90 degrees where DO levels are suitable. I do have some experience with WE in ponds up in PA, but those were fairly large ponds with springs that helped keep them cool.

Research has shown the following temps(in Celsius) for different stages of WE:

Egg: Optimum: 9-15

Larvae/Fry: Optimum:22-25 Min-Max:12-32

Juvenile: Optimum:26-30 Min-Max:<34

Adult: Optimum:20-24 Min-Max:<34

34 degrees Celsius is roughly 93 degrees Fahrenheit. Most southern ponds will easily exceed that temperature in the heat of summer in areas of the pond that have DO levels high enough to support WE.

WE need DO levels of >5 (mg L-1)for eggs and fry, >3 for juveniles and >2 for adults.

Check your pond throughout the summer this year and see if it meets the minimum needs. You will find the largest of WE will most likely be even more sensitive to higher temps. Much like large YP begin to die at higher temps before the smaller YP do, you will see that with WE as well.

In my home fishing river, the lower Potomac River, WE max out at around 8 pounds. I believe this isn't do to a lack of food but rather, WE larger than 8 pounds cannot survive the temperatures the river reaches in summer. So, that is their cut off limit.