DerekG’s summary paraphrased - ”Stocking into an unfilled 1.5 ac pond (15’ deep) at approx 7-10 deep currently with 4-5 ft to fill, I should have a total of around 200 x 6-7" perch and 200 x 5-6" RES to go with the baitfish of 40 lbs FHM breeders (spring) and 10 lbs golden shiners (fall).” Note 1/2 the YP & RES were stocked in spring and ½ in fall. Intended predators (SMB) will likely not be stocked until fall of 2008 and probably as fingerlings. Walleye (WE) might be introduced as a bonus fish.
DerekG asks “If I don't add anything for the YP to spawn on near shore, will that slow them down some?”
My answer is yes, however it all depends. It depends on several important things.
1. Of the 200 adult perch that are present, approx ½ are females - possible 100 egg strands in spring of 2008. No emergent or submerged weeds are present for spawning substrate, thus egg strands will settle and lie on a relatively new exposed mud bottom. Water has been murky cloudy all summer and is currently cloudy. Derek had a hard time catching any fish due to turbid water. This is no doubt due to silt clay being suspended from runoff and wave action on exposed bare mud shorelines. If current turbid conditions prevail in spring of 2008, YP egg strands will have a low hatching success due to suspended silt and clay particles settling on and suffocating embryos in egg strands.
My experience with YP is if one collects all egg strands that are deposited on numerous tree branches that have been deposited along the shoreline in shallow water, then the resulting YP hatch is negatively impacted. Amount of impact is fairly proportional to how many strands are laid in deep water and then hatch. Deep water egg strands in DerekG’s pond should have a very poor hatching success if water in again highly turbid in April of 2008. Also high degree of turbidity has a big negative affect on the phyto and zooplankton which fish fry feed on. Thus food will be in short supply due to high turbidity for the YP fry for those that do hatch.
So in mid March, set out 15 to 30 twiggy tree branches (4’-6’ long) at various places along the shoreline. I have found that YP will prefer to lay eggs along certain direction oriented shorelines. YP in my pond 1st prefer the east and 2 secondarily the west shoreline avoiding the northern, northwest, northeast shoreline. I get a few egg strands on the southern shore. However in other ponds I have seen YP prefer the northern shoreline. Check branches every few days and remove all egg strands. I am confident that with your current pond conditions, this will significantly affect the number of YP fry your pond produces in 2008. Turbidity and lack of shallow water remnant vegetation (natural spawning substrates) by themselves will have a big negative impact on you YP hatch.
2. I suspect that the RES will also have a hard time producing successful spawns in summer of 2008 due to all bottom areas are bare mud and coinciding high turbidity which has a negative affect on egg development and food for newly hatched fry.
3. There has been a previous discussion on this forum about adult yellow perch (YP) eating young bluegill (BG). Most of the information about this predatory behavior was based on a published research. I could not locate that topic using search. YP are a panfish as Dr. Willis mentions, but I consider them more of a predator than some of the other common panfish such as BG, RES, and other sunfishes. I consider YP similar to crappie when it comes to eating fish. Some articles indicate the YP prey on YOY BG especially during winter (Fullhart, Parsons, Willis, Reed 2002). Other articles report that YP were responsible for reducing the young of year YP by up to 25% in October and 96% mortality by year one due to cannibalism (Tarby 1974, Post & Evans 1989).
In DerekG’s pond YP cannibalism could have a significient impact on the 2008 YP hatch IF conditions are right. However I suspect that an abundance of FH minnows will result in a lot of FHM consumption instead of perch feeding in YOY perch. FHM are a very easy food item for YP. YP will not feed heavily on YOY perch in DerekG’s pond until the FHM are in short supply.
In summary, I think if DerekG can remove a large number of egg strands in 2008 and if the pond remains turbid, then survival of YOY Yperch in 2008 will be low. To verify the success of the YP – RES hatch, Derek should monitor the relative numbers of young fish by using wire minnow traps and maybe a few tows of a beach seine. If YP or RES numbers seem to be in excess YOY can be removed when trapped rather than releasing those fish back into the pond. If SMB are stocked as fingerlings, I would also monitor the YP and RES denisites each summer an fall until the SMB are able to spawn and their young are 6”-8” long. At that time the SMB and larger YP should be able to start eating enough young YP & RES to make a measurable impact on the numbers of young “panfish”. At this time I suspect the FH minnows will be rare or extinct and golden shiners and YOY RES & YP will be the backbone of the forage fish base. As with any fishery spawning success of each species present has a lot to do with the dynamics and interactions of the fish community.
As long as your pond remains turbid due to suspended clay/silt, the amount or degree of overall predation, spawning success, normal fish growth, and recruitment of young fish will all likely be reduced compared to relatively clear water conditions.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 11/12/07 10:59 PM.
