Pond Boss Forums PHOTO GALLERY Image Gallery Flier?

I caught these this morning. The bg was in good shape. The bcp was stunted. And the flier was in good shape. I have not caught one of these in years(flier). But I also have not fished in places where they live. These came out of a canal that we dug to raise the field up next to a creek. It connects to the creek during high water. Does any one know if these would be a viable pond fish?

That's a nice flier! Good question on the pond habitat....I've only seen those in streams, or moving water. Brackish, many times.

Fliers can do fine in ponds, they however are generally out competed by other species in typical pond environments. They do best in very acidic heavily vegetated bodies of water.

Do you think they would pellet train?

About as easily as crappie if I had to guess... In other words, not very easily. I've thought about using them as a novelty species. They just don't get very big. They're very interesting aquarium specimens. The place I catch them most often is an old heavily vegetated and acidic oxbow pond. It's a fascinating community of acidic loving fish species like fliers, bluespotted sunfish, banded sunfish, grass pickerel, pirate perch, swamp darters and eastern mudminnows. All species that can live in ponds but are rarely found in common "farm ponds" as they just don't compete well with common gamefish like LMB.

I want to do something with a 1.5 acre cypress hole I have it has nothing in it. I think a native pond would be nice. Maybe warmouth for the top predator. Red fin pike, flier, longear sunfish, res. what do you think? Any other suggestions?

I'd do chain pickerel, maybe bowfin, flier, warmouth, RES and if you can find some to transfer, bluespotted and banded sunfish. Several species of forage fish are adapted to tannic, acidic waters as well.

This ponds overflow will be draining into my 5 acre bg lmb pond so I don't want the bowfin. But I will look into the chain pickerel. Thanks for the ideas!