Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Corrective stocking YP benefit?

I have a pond that fluctuates from about 1/4 ac to 1/3 ac. I'm not sure how deep it is, but it's deeper than I guessed when I first started fishing it, or it would be dry now. A friend who paddled a jon boat out to the stand pipe a month ago thought he was over a good depth of water. The pond has BG, some nice sized by my standards, some 7-9" LMB, fewer LMB that would go 2 lb or better, crappie, and shiners. It also has many bullfrogs, so I'm guessing it can't have many LMB over a couple pounds.

I'm wondering if I added a few YP if I'd gain anything, or possibly hurt my pond. I prefer fishing flies to anything else, and I doubt that I'd catch many YP on flies, even if they did well. But they might reduce the BG population. Don't know if that would be good or bad. Fewer BG might mean bigger LMB. Or it might mean more little LMB.

Establishing YP in a fishery with LMB presence isn't easy. Likely requires dedication to supplemental stocking even if there's abundant macrophyte presence to enable them to escape immediate predation. Even a 10" YP is vulnerable to predation due to it's fusiform shape. I don't find YP a particularly good candidate for stocking into LMB fisheries unless established prior to LMB introduction. It can be done, but will require sustained investment and management efforts.

I wonder is they would be good or bad if I could get them established. The pond seems to have a fair number of fusiforms in it now in the form of 7 – 9” shiners. It's chocked with macrophytes, if FA count.

As TJ alluded to, yellow perch are a favorite of largemouth. I see people stock them in ponds around here and they never see them again. You'd have to have a ton of vegetation year round for them to have a chance. I honestly don't think algae would cut it, as it'll come and go throughout the year, occasionally leaving them vulnerable. If you're pleased with the condition of your bluegill, and if that is your goal, I'd stick with that. Tempting to add a species you enjoy, but wouldn't mess up a good thing. If the yellow perch do establish themselves, they'll compete with your bluegill, though they are more predatory, so a slightly different niche.

To improve the turtlemtn fishery would work on achieving a better balance of BG:LMB that targets the goals for BG and bass. Adding YP will likely just complicate achieving the BG:LMB balance of goal. Is there a goal for the types of bass BG you want?

Sounds like the YP would be a bad idea. No particular goals except to have enough fish to catch a few on flies on most of the days I try. It doesn't take very big fish to be fun on light fly fishing tackle. The only fish I've kept have been crappie. That's because of the conventional wisdom that they should be removed from small ponds, but right now, I wish I had more. I've caught only a couple on flies. I'm using little BG flies.

There's not much better than BG on the fly. I'd focus your efforts on increasing the population of trophy status BG. Consider popping a .25 ac pond and stock f yp and m bg for a trophy fishery - that's what I'm enjoying right now and am achieving goals-very rewarding and tons of fun to manage. Just feed measure cull and restock. Simple and a blast.

I built one pond and couldn't bring myself to cull anything. Ate one CC. All I've taken out of this pond are some crappies and BGs, and I put all the BGs and some of the crappies back. I put a little BG back today that had my $0.89 fly still in it. I have 25 2" RES in a tank that I plan to put in the pond around the end of this month, or as soon as I see signs that the BG have spawned. Maybe a better plan would have been to put them in immediately. The BG will have a tough time spawning with all the FA that's in the pond.

TJ,
I'm not clear on what you mean. Does "popping" mean eliminating what's in the pond now? What do "f" and "m" mean? I found the PBF list of abbeviations in the past, but now I can't find it. What would I cull, and why would it be necessary to stock more BG? I know the right way to manage this pond is to drain it, seal it, and begin the process of establishing beneficial vegetation as it's refilling. But that's expensive, I hate to kill the fish I have in there, and and while all that was going on, I would have no place to fish.

Turtle,

FWIW I think when TJ said "popping a .25 ac pond and stock f yp and m bg " , he is suggesting you build another 1/4 acre pond and stock it with Female YP and Male BG.

Bill D. and TJ,

Thanks. That's a good idea. I've thought about something like that. Even called a dirt contractor, but couldn't connect. Think maybe I'll look into that again. I have a couple phone numbers.

Yes, sorry, that's what I mean. Keep current pond as is, manage it for your specific goals, pop [construct] a new cell .25 ac + and go with a Male BG Female YP fishery. I am having a blast with mine - ice fishing was off the chain crazy. SO much easier to manage when there's zero reproduction, just feed and enjoy the show and get your next class ready for stocking according to harvest and natural mortality. Simple and fun.

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