Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Anybody losing any large yellow perch

I see now why hydrating feed makes sense now. The bigger guys are deeper in the cooler water, hydrated feed sinks to them.

See there is a knack to growing very large perch too eh.

Cecil, I'm not sure of their thought process or training, This was the quote I had from a very nice biologist but who I think misses out by not keeping up with the wealth of knowledge here on PB.

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Your pond is small and you will want to keep the fish community simple. I strongly recommend fathead minnows, largemouth bass, bluegills and channel catfish as your target community. Most of the rest of your listed species do not do well in small ponds. I will put the fatheads in first to get them established then put in largemouth bass (both in year 1) to ensure they can get big enough to keep the bluegills populations in check when you introduce them. In year 2, put in bluegills and channel catfish. These are all fish that should be available from private aquaculturists in our state.
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I'm going to follow Bill's experient with keen interest. They don't call him Dr. Perca for nothin.'

About a month weeks ago I forgot to turn on the compressor for the night. So cranked it up in the morning to compensate and forgot to turn it off before the wife and I took a swim. Swimming was not as comfortable as normal becase the water was quite cool!

That makes good sense actually but they are not typically taught much about ponds. I don't remember anything about recreational pond culture in my Michigan fisheries curriculum. But then my degree was only a technical degree so maybe there is something more at the university level? I will however put my two year education up against any four year program out there, which included a summer internship and a trout hatchery. Lots of hands on application. And our prof was really hard on us. I think only two or three of us graduated out of the progam in the class of 78.'

I think Cecil is correct. Most state biologists are not taught much about fisheries of ponds and what they are taught is the information that was basic pond management from the "old guard". Keep recommending the same tried and true methods to keep it as simple as possible which can work well. What they learn is basic concepts that have been available since the 1940's and 50's. All of us in the Pond Boss family are learning new pond management methods and trying fish combinations as practical research for better ways to enjoy the private water resources.

The few fish hatcheries in Michigan only sell HBG, not regular BG. I wonder if the cart is leading the horse or if it's the other way around?

My thinking is people think the DNR is right about not being able to manage regular bluegills in a pond, and hence growers don't get much call for regular bluegill.

One grower in Michigan told me he doesn't get much call for regular bluegills.

From the 2015 list of registered fish farms in MI, 31 farms list BG and 30 farms list HBG. Most list both as well as GSF and other sunfish. Whether they are actually producing and selling them or not is another question.

JKB, can you throw up a link here to that website that lists the places that have BG?

Yeah that's the thing. It may be different now but several years back I was looking for regular strain bluegills and the Michigan suppliers I called only carried hybrids even though they listed "bluegill." It's been so long ago I don't remember how many I called. This was years before VHS testing showed up.

I do know I ended up with bluegills from Keystone in Illinois, then Bruce in Nebraska, and a couple of places in Ohio. All but Keystone and Bruce probably were wholesales from Arkansas which I understand is quite common. Many suppliers make numerous trips to Arkansas to get everything from grass carp, to red ears, to bluegills and bass. Then just hold and resell.

I wonder if the shift toward HBG is an economical one for the fisheries. If you buy BG, you are pretty much set unless you have some sort of catastrophe (due to their prolific breeding). If you buy HBG, you will need to keep coming back to buy more because of their breeding properties.

Sean

I believe that's part of it.

The hatcheries I deal with offer native as well as HBG. I tend to think we are still dealing with the misconceptions and half-truths of 30 years ago. And that's with both state and private fisheries personnel.

I've sat in on a couple seminars, one private and one state, and neither would recommend HBG.

Sure...

Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development

Go down to the link where it says List of "Licensed Aquaculture Facilities in Michigan". It opens up a 32 page PDF that lists facilities by county.

MDARD is running it now -vs- MDEQ or MDNR or when those two were combined, which was kinda like hell for everyone.

Yeah Spark... I think it's more of what the prevailing winds are doing at the time. I've never heard of imports for pond stocking, but then again, I'm not the one being paid to police this.

I do know that the fish farms up here work with each other. They do business with each other, buy/sell to each other to fit their needs. One produces this and is set up for it, they sell to others that are not set up for this, but they must list any species that could possibly be in their possession in their facility or on the farm. A few just put everything, but they seem to be the brokers.

My honest opinion is the people who fought hard to get things turned around up here would welcome anyone new to jump in and contribute.

....all you need is one feisty male GSF "accidentally" dropped in yer puddle with those lady BG! I have become a huge fan of the fight and growth of HBG. Ooops! Was that a GSF I "accidentally" bucket stocked!

Quote from my post above. “Current surface temp at 6" is 85F and at 6ft 79F. The temperature difference meets the technical definition of stratification. I am running aeration about 3 hrs per day early morning (actual run time is 6am to 9am) . Temps were taken late afternoon and I think the temperature difference was due to daytime heat accumulation. I will try and remember to retake the temperatures when the aeration stops tomorrow morning.”

I am back with the end of my dock, morning water temperature reading after aerating 3 hrs for comparing the 6” sub- surface temperature and one at 6ft. Surface temp, post 3 hrs aeration was 79.5F and at 6ft it was 79.5F. Evidently the 6 degree F thermal stratification noted above was due to daytime heating. Closest diffuser to the end of the dock is 60 ft away in deeper water.