I was wondering if SMB will reproduce in a 3/4 acre pond?

They will almost certainly brood and hatch young-how much recruitment occurs will depend on a great many factors including forage available, predators present, and habitat.

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They will given the right spawning habitat! But they don't like to share space with LMB...LMB will bully them off their nests and generally disrupt their reproduction.

If you are not getting reproduction from SMB in a pond something is not correct and it is often either poor habitat or presence of LMB. In good habitat SMB often reproduce too well in ponds.

The key factors in SUCCESSFUL reproduction of SMB in ponds are substrate and competition from other species, particularly LMB. Call up PB headquarters and ask to buy the back issues containing the series of articles Bill Cody wrote about SMB.

the onbly fish in the pond will be FHM,GSH,RES and of course SMB so i should have good luck then.

I have had SMB reproduction in my 1/4 acre pond the last two years with that same combination of fish. I did add 14 tons of gravel in the corners of the dam and placed some rock piles in those areas as well. I would be surprised if you didn't have some SMB reproduction take place. At the moment I worry about having to many SMB in my pond.

If you have some gravel they will reproduce like rabbits.

I'm not sure you even need any kind of substrate.

So you have the issue of 1) Actually spawning, and 2) Survival of the fry.

My pond has lots of sandstone rock in it and I also hauled in 30 tons of 4 to 6 rock, so i should be good to go. If I put 15 walleye in there too would that hurt anything?

KSBASS, I used to work in KS, but have been in SD for a long time. In SD, we can't keep smallies from reproducing in our ponds. :-) However, that sure wasn't true in KS. KS is more like ponds in the southeastern US where reproduction (or at least survival to adulthood as Sunil said earlier) was much more erratic. We had our best luck in KS by ensuring that the smallies had rock habitat, even if we had to put in spawning tubs with gravel inside. However, I would sure bet that your hauled-in rock will give them the spawning habitat, and then will also provide needed habitat for the age-0 fish after they are hatched. My best guess is that you have done well.

Walleyes will cause you no problem. However, you don't have a really strong prey base [I am NOT saying there is a problem :-)], so I simply would not overdo the walleye stocking. If you want to catch and eat a few walleyes, you'll need to occasionally re-stock with some advanced size fingerlings (maybe 6-8 inchers as a general idea). Just keep them as a lower density, "bonus" type fish.

Thanks Dave so do you think that 25 SMB and 15 Walleye would be to much for a 3/4 acre pond with just FHM, GSH, and RES?

The SMB even before they spawn will hammer the FHM. Plan on FHM disappearing soon (1-2yrs) after SMB are stocked. Once you have SMB reproduction and total number doubles or triples you will have to keep predator numbers thinned out to maintain adequate forage for acceptable growth. Be watchful. Consider using some crayfish as supplemental forage. If you add WE I would add some yellow perch. I think RES will be disappointing as a forage fish to get growth from SMB and WE. Try to have good habitat for GSH because they may not be able to maintain enough brood stock if the SMB and WE are significantly higher numbers than the original stockers.

Nobody around here sells yellow perch they are unheard of around here. But was going to add some crayfish hopefully that will help would there be anything else to add for a forage fish

The rocky habitat sounds great for smallies. Do you anticipate some areas more likely to have the submergent aquatic plants? That is your best chance for survival of the adult golden shiners.

Sometimes you have to go the extra mile to get what you want and drive several hundred miles to get the specific fish that you want. Make it a day trip or weekend getaway. I do it all the time. Normally they will pack them in bags with oxygen and in a box. You drive home. Properly bagged & boxed fish can survive for 12-24 hrs. Best survivors are the fingerlings (3"-5"). For starters you will only need 100-200 YP. Allow them to spawn before adding predators or add fingerling SMB right after the YP spawn. Start looking for the nearest hatcheries with perch. Call several nearest fish farms about who has yellow perch. It is their business and they will know who to call, although they might not tell you unless they are customer friendly. Start here. Trophy Fisheries. Leonard Jirak, 540 16th Road NW, Hartford, KS 66854. Tel: (620) 364-5552. Cell: (620) 203-8081

Shoreline emergent vegetation is also beneficial - reeds, rushes, spike rush, pickerel plant, hardy hybrid water lilies (smaller varieties 3-5 ft spread).

Well I have some aquatic plants some coontail that is under control and some other also. I did pile up 4 piles of oak pallets and stacked big rocks on them. and also threw in some pvc pipe and large xmas trees and some dug up root balls off of some trees when the dug the pond. Also threw in some artificial plastic trees like your wife would buy for her house.

Bill if i stocked the yellow perch right now would they reproduce later this fall? I am planning on stocking the smb a year from now. That would give the yellow perch a whole year head start and the fhm res and gsh a 2 year head start

Let other members know if and where you locate yellow perch.

If you stock 4"-6" YP (50-150,250) this fall or larger YP 6"-8" (30-50) in spring soon after ice is out, they will spawn in spring 2014. YP spawn in early spring when water gets to 50F-55F. This will provide lots of young perch for the fall stocking of SMB and or WE. You should be able to easily grow YP to the 10"-12" sizes.

Google says there is a guy in KS who has YP but I don't know anything about him. Sent you a PM.

I have a source in Lincoln, NE that is very trusted - Bruce, Bullhead, Shorty, Omaha and I all do business with him. Feel free to contact me and I'll put you in touch with him.

Also, I plan on starting YP reproduction pond in the Spring 2014. I should have thousands of 3-5" YP by July and am happy to help. Ask around, I'm apparently a very poor hatchery owner = pond boss family pushover!

Yes that guy is only 45 minutes away I am going to try and contact him this weekend about the yellow perch. Im excited! thanks guys!

Well, he might be only 45 mins away but the one TJ is talking about at least comes with a recommendation...

Beware the untested fish farm. There are stories all over the PBF about getting other species mixed in with the one they were supposed to be buying..

He is a retired wildlife and parks biologist so im sure it shouldn't be a problem.

With fish a trusted source is always better than a close one. Check them out first and go with quality. Its easy to put them in but its hard to correct a bad mess.

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