Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Raising Forage and Bait Cast Netting Forage Fish

THe forage you are seeing in near shore Lk Erie is likely a mixture of several species such as gizzard shad, alewife, emerald shiner, spottail shiner, plus miscellaneous fish swimming with the main school. Each trip and the season can change what species is dominant at the time of collection. A big caution is to not collect when zebra and quagga mussels are reproducing. The microscopic reproductive velagers are planktonic in the water and can be transferred to your pond. VHS virus is also a concern. At a minimum I would dip-rinse all fish transferred. A Quarantine salt treatment is added insurance.
"That’s key because microscopic mussel larvae known as velagers may tag along in that water. You could have a thimble full of water in the bottom of your boat and it could have these in it,”

http://research.noaa.gov/InDepth/Feature...s-Food-Web.aspx

http://www.great-lakes.net/envt/flora-fauna/invasive/images/quagga_lg.jpg

http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/02/22/zebra-quagga-mussels-great-lakes/98242180/