Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Some fail, some success

So down at the pond today on an absolutely perfect day of upper 60's and bright sun. My little pup accompanied me and for once stayed with me instead of running off to chase a rabbit or dig for mice. Instead we sat near shore, and the perch came right up to the water's edge to beg for food! The females are all fat, and generally they are ALL quite large, looks like a few are over 10", but hard to tell for sure. The perch just LOVE my pond which is cool. No spawn yet here.

My little dog enjoyed watching the fish for a bit while the perch came up, took some food, and then took off only to come back again.

So after we got our fill, I took my dog to the dock, and we both laid down and looked into the water while we stayed still (it was quite cute!) the crappie like hanging about in the shade of the dock, so after a few minutes, a large school of them came into view and hovered just a few inches below the surface in pretty clear water. Some of the crappie are quite large also, but the majority are small. Then the perch crept into the group, which made the largest crappie look like babies.

So the fail is my walleye. Those fish have been abysmal performers in my pond. The few I have managed to catch are smaller than my perch, skinny, and having a rough go of it. I still have small schools of FHM left over, so there is forage available but uneaten. I am disappointed as I did not want to have a "typical" pond of bass and bluegill and was hoping for a decent WE fishery.

So now I need to understand what to stock to keep the few KOI under control since I don't have a top predator worth its salt. I am considering large mouth bass, but it is only a 1/2 acre pond, and I like my perch. I would also like to keep the BC under control. How should I introduce a new top predator? What should I introduce? HSB which are a long drive from here? I don't have any crayfish in the pond, and I need some if I put bass in and want to keep things balanced...

Crayfish are fist though, a lot of cleanup from dead frogs needed.

-Mark

Could be your WE don't have enough forage? My FHM tend to stay in the shallows and i don't know enough about WE to know how they feed. YP only spawn once a year, so once they are eaten the WE may lack enough available food. Maybe some BG or shiners for a more spread out spawning species to give them a more secure supply of the right sized forage?

My first choice would be the HSB. In my opinion, they'd be worth the drive.

SMB would be my next choice. You could stock one lone LMB, or if you're confident, a few of a single sex. I'd stock some brooder size GSH, maybe 50-100 to add forage. I think you'll see improved WE growth.

Agree with t my we do well on gsh. Stock them and you should see results yet this season with improved condition.

Yes, I think the lack of forage is the problem. My pond has low nutrients, and the FHM just cannot recover with all of the BC in the pond. A few HSB may be in order since when they get large can target the BC and larger perch to keep some populations in check since we don't fish the pond hard at all. Mostly a swim and watch pond it turns out.

I think I will get some crayfish, GSH, and a few HSB this spring. The tough part will be the crayfish. I know getting them from local creeks will be ok, but what about the species? Not sure if they will be the correct ones for the pond.

squid, Zetts in Drifting, PA has HSB.

Looks to be a 3.5-4 hour drive for you, just FYI.

A video I took below the dock. For reference, the KOI are about 14-15 inches.

https://youtu.be/HKN4pvpsK4E