Hi everyone,

My 1 acre pond is still in the process of filling. I stocked RES and FHM in the spring and I am very pleased with the FHM reproduction. I have been trying and failing to catch SFS and BNM. So far I have tried a creek on my parents property that only produced a bunch of creek chubs and crayfish, and then at the lake in the channels which are part of a large river. There I only caught LMB, BG, darters and even a tiny gar. Anyone have tips on how to better catch these in northern Indiana? I have used minnow traps and also actively seined. I would like to put YP in but don't want to do that until the forage is established. Any reliable sources to buy forage other than FHM at a reasonable price? Thanks!

Golden shiners are a great addition. Most bait shops have them or they might put an order in for you with their wholesale provider for a bag of shiners and you can meet on the day the bait arrives and take a bag home.

Not sure how to get SFS or BNM but many forum members in ohio have them in their ponds. I've read posts here that suggest if you just had some disks of crevice spawning shiners with eggs on them from another member's pond and dunked the disks in your pond that you would have plenty of your own as a 'starter culture'

Local crayfish would be great forage for your perch. Did you consider stocking the crayfish that you captured?

There is a outfit, Anderson that ships rosy reds if you are interested.

You can buy papershell crayfish if you prefer that type over native.

Lots of indiana natives on PB who can probably guide you better.

My perch wiped out 2 years worth of FHM in about 1 summer so you really can't rely on FHM unless you have lots of cover/structure for them to hide and reproduce in so it is a good idea to use your time now to establish several other lines of forage if possible.

Hi Canyoncreek,

Thanks for the info. The thing I worry about with golden shiners is I have read they can get quite big and most likely become bait stealers when the kids and I are fishing for other fish. I know Jonahs aquarium has these varieties but they are like $5 and $6 per minnow. My wife would shoot me for how many I would need.Forgot to mention I did put some crays in. Havent tried to catch them yet to see how they are doing. Will most likely add more still this year. I put about 30 ton of large rip rap in piles and just under the water on the shoreline but water is not up far enough yet. Also sunk some pines, pallets, and have some massive concrete slabs coming out from the shore for structure. I have some lilly pads started but in a container until the water level is higher as well. I will also feed everything. FYI the minnows in my pond love the Purina game fish chow, and my parents bluegill and catfish have a hay day with it. Our local co-op stocks it so I figured I would give it a try.

someone else hopefully can give advice about your concern about GSH being bait stealers. My kids are fishing out my unwanted goldfish and are also catching perch and RES. Maybe my GSH aren't big enough (are 2 years old) but have never caught one on a hook and worm or hook and imitation pellet. I only know I have GSH based on them entering traps or getting caught in a seine. Biggest GSH I caught though was about 5".

If you add perch, at some point you will struggle to control their numbers without lots of catch and release to the pan or a limited number of predators. If you put a few SMB in for example and they don't spawn much, the SMB will control perch and GSH at the same time.