Cire9 � As you already know, you can find a diversity of opinions about yellow perch in ponds. I don�t want to take anything away from Jimbo�s comments. However, you made one point in your original statement that really caught my attention. �I am not looking for trophey fish at all.� I think that this is a key.
We do successfully use the largemouth bass-yellow perch combination in South Dakota ponds. The yellow perch is our most popular panfish, probably because of winter ice fishing. Thus, many pondowners want yellow perch in their ponds.
When largemouth bass density is relatively high, then they do indeed control yellow perch reproduction and eventual survival into the adult population. High density largemouth bass populations typically have few larger bass. Around my neck of the woods, most bass will be less than 12 inches long. Because they are abundant, they really thin the small yellow perch during their first year of life. As a result, the surviving perch have less competition for food, and grow quickly to larger sizes. We expect to commonly produce 10-12 inch perch in such ponds. I like to keep these ponds simple: largemouth bass, yellow perch, but no other panfish species.
I think the key to your question is that you are not seeking trophy largemouth bass. You sound as if you would be willing to let the bass get to higher density, which is needed to prevent the yellow perch from overpopulating. We have a term for ponds managed under this strategy: panfish option.
So many people on this forum are really interested in larger largemouth bass. That�s the reason that the bluegill is such an important prey species. The bluegills are multiple spawners, and continually produce new hatches of young bluegills through the summer. In contrast, the yellow perch spawn only once in the spring. Thus, they are not as good a prey source as are the bluegills.
I have seen other pondowners and biologists on this website who suggest that largemouth bass be stocked first and allowed to develop a population, prior to stocking a fish such as black crappie. I suspect that similar advice would be a good idea for a largemouth bass-yellow perch pond.
I am leery of the smallmouth bass-yellow perch combination. In the next issue of Pond Boss magazine, I�ll have the second of two articles on the use of smallmouth bass in ponds. Let me include here two statements from that article. �Smallmouth bass are not as efficient predators as largemouth bass, and a pond managed with smallmouth bass and bluegills will invariably result in a stunted bluegill population.� �At this time, traditional fisheries management advice is to NOT stock smallmouth bass with a panfish species such as bluegill, yellow perch, or crappies. Any such attempts should be considered experimental.� As I admit in the article, I am not certain of this advice. However, it certainly is the traditional advice.
What type of pond do you have? Is it a hill pond, with a dam that backs up water? If so, how much submergent plant growth do you get in the pond? Do plants cover 20% or more of the pond surface during midsummer? If so, I would certainly say that a smallmouth bass-yellow perch combination is very risky. I would be afraid that the smallies would not control the reproductive capability of the yellow perch. If you have a steep-sided gravel pit with little plant growth, then the combination might work, although I have seen no studies of such work (I actually would like to do some).
I think your assessment of the walleyes is right on target. Currently, we are trying hard to manage walleyes with yellow perch in two ponds, both of which are near 20 acres in size (much larger than yours). In one pond, we have maintained sufficient walleyes to control the yellow perch reproduction. However, walleye growth has been very slow. The pondowner is pretty disappointed in me, even though I didn�t want to put walleyes in the pond from the start. In the second pond, we stocked much lower densities of walleyes, and their growth is much faster. However, I am really worried about the yellow perch getting out of control from insufficient predation by the walleyes. Time will tell!!
Finally, you are right to expect very little natural reproduction of walleyes in the pond. We see very limited natural reproduction. Restocking with advanced sizes (5-8 inches) of walleyes is necessary to maintain their population in ponds where I have worked.
Hopefully, Bill Cody will also respond to your questions. He is less positive about the largemouth bass-yellow perch combination that I am, and he�s got a LOT of experience with yellow perch.
Hope this helps!!
Dave
