Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Too many Yellow Perch?

Big Smiles here.

Theo yer killing me. Yes Bill it is Jones. I did not get a phone call last night from FingerLakes (his recorded message said he would call back between 7 & 9 PM). And you are right - the free delivery makes a big difference. Delivery fee without the minimum purchase is $75 which itself is quite reasonable. For me to get together a rig with tank and oxygen would be .. well you know Huge.
Thanks Theo for suggesting I check with Jones - there are no SMB listed on their website so I figured wrongly they would not have any.
Thanks Bill again for sharing your knowledge. I will make the adjustment to add the GS.

I have found that most hatchery's websites are not truly up to date.

If you want the prized fish, you've got to let your fingers do the walking.

Also, I've found that for whatever reason, you don't get a lot of call backs from the hatcheries. You've got to stay on them and be ready to lay your money down.

I also wouldn't consider sending an email as having effectively communicated with them.

As ML once said, there's no luck about it.

Update - I put in my fish order with Jones. They had everthing I needed. Only slight hitch - they are up to 6-8 weeks out on delivery, and "if it gets too cold we will have to hold your order until spring".

I told I "REALLY wanted to get them in this year". He just said "we'll see". I hope I get lucky and get them in this fall.

I don't like the way Bruce Condello's RES are looking at me.

Hey guys just happened to be reading this thread so I thought I would throw this out there. I made a trip to Fenders (Saturday 11/4) to pick up largemouth, black crappies, fatheads and also ended up bringing home 20 smallmouths. They were 3-4" and ran $3.00 a piece. They made the 2 hour trip home and swam happily away in my pond!!

I was able to get SMB fingerlings and the 5-8" - got 20 of each plus some FHM. They will be delivered tomorrow afternoon.
I was able to catch 30 of the YP - I transferred them to the small pond. Hopefully that will take some pressure of the SMB fingerlings. Also there are "lots" of 1.5" fish in the pond. I don't think they are FHM as thery are not swarming. I think they are BG. All the YP I pulled out looked very healthy but I did not weigh them. I think the base is established and doing well for now. We will see how everyting is come spring. Water temp 42.

AATW - One good thing about yellow perch is they tend to be more active and agile than BG, FHM, and SMB in cold water (39F). There is not much water temperature drop remaining for your pond before the winter, stable, cold, water period sets in at 39F. This should allow the YP to HOPEFULLY reduce some of the number of smallest BG between now and when water gets back into the 50F range. Do you have a wire mesh minnow trap abt $10 ea(NON-vinyl coated and with darkened-painted mesh)? Try setting a trap to catch some of the small 1.5" fish to VERIFY the length and species of the 1.5" fish. Compare the catch in the trap with what you catch in spring of 2007. You should have some of these traps to periodically monitor & manage the relative abundance of small fish that will occur each year in your pond.

I looked at my data and it takes at least a 6" YP and a 5.5" SMB to get a 1.5"-1.7" BG in their mouth. I think YP and SMB tend to "prefer" eating fish that are a size that is less than the maximum size that fits into their mouth. I think 8"-10" YP and 6"-8" SMB will eat a fair number of the 1"-1.5" BG esp if the fathead minnow numbers are low. My experiences show the FHM will be the first preferred food for both the YP and SMB.

More time will provide more information about this story of raising fish in your pond.

Thanks Bill. I will get some minnow traps and do as you advised.
The Fish Truck came yesterday from Jones Fish and I put into the big pond the following:
20 SMB 3-5"
20 SMB 5-8"
4 HSB 8-10"
10 lb + FHM
10 lb+ GS
I was the last stop for the truck and got what he had left for the FHM and GS - there was a lot more than 10 " of eash - maybe 20# of FHM. That made me very happy. The SMB looked great! The weather was relatively warm - about 55F - and the fish all seemed to do well as they were released. I have to give high marks to Jones Fish - 2 deliveries both as agreed or better - all healthy fish.

Hi all. I have been MIA for a while but wanted to report back. The big pond is almost full - within 6" of overflow. The SMB and YP seem to be doing well. The SMB went into the pond in the fall of 2007. I caught 2 last weekend on rubber crawfish - each about 10".

I have observed one SMB male gaurding a nest so I am hopeful for recruitment. I also caught a lot of YP on worms - several in the 9-10" range. Fish fry soon. Also caught one RES. I did observe YP ribbons earlier as well.

I moved a couple dozen of the 5-7" BG to the small pond where there is one nice LMB guarding his nest. I am thinking reduce the BG population somewhat and the LMB has some family there that hopefully will welcome the additional BG. Lots of 3-5" LMB in small pond. I also see groups of 5-6" SMB cruising around in the large pond.

So all in all the advice I was lucky enough to get here on PB has played out well so far. My SMB and YP seem to be healthy and there are plenty of BG in several sizes. I am not sure about the RES - haven't grown much in 1 1/2 years. Competition from the BG and YP? I put in 4 HSB 8-10" also 1 1/2 years ago - I have not seen them since. Probably need to try some different lures?

Best thing - we have a red-shouldered hawk nest 50' from the house! I am amazed they seem to be tolerating me and the lawnmower. They circle overhead and cry out when I walk below the nest but so far I think they will successfully hatch the eggs.

Good news. Thanks for the report. Don't be a stranger. For those who don't recall this is one of the better in detail northern pond discussion.

Hi Asleep and welcome back. It's good to hear you pond is doing well. Very cool about the hawk nest. I hope you're taking photos!

Thanks Jeff and Eric. There is not much yet to take photos of - we occasionally see the hawks coming and going from the nest but can't see down into it. No babies yet. The rest of the time we see them circling up high or perched too far away to take a good shot. Wife observed yesterday we haven't seen much of the red squirrels.

I know what you mean Asleep. The only time I saw an Eagle at my place he (she?) was flying so high I couldn't get a photo of it.