Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Walleye Stocking in ND Lake

Ty�here are some thoughts on your questions and comments.

�I read one study on walleye diets where they found that chirnomids were the most commonly consumed food, but drum were number one by biomass consumed.� Many, many walleye populations do a lot of feeding on invertebrates. Usually, the bigger the better, so they really got on something like a big Hexagenia mayfly hatch. When given a choice in laboratory studies, walleyes of all sizes will select fish prey (assuming it is the correct size) over invertebrates. I'm not surprised by your reference on chironomids (midges or bloodworms). We've had estimates of up to 40 million chironomids per acre of lake bottom in some eastern SD natural lakes. The yellow perch really feed on them!

�Aren't perch populations cyclical? I was under the impresion that they have large year classes every 5 or 6 years, and that the large year class surpresses the following year classes?� I prefer to use the word erratic rather than cyclical. Cycles mean a regular pattern of up and down, as you indicated. Yellow perch are not on any type of standard cycle. Often, not always, a strong year class can suppress the next one. We see that effect more often in walleyes than perch, but again, it�s �not always.� In SD natural lakes, we actually see some perch populations with pretty darn consistent year-class strength. They tend to be in the �nicer� lakes with submergent vegetation. They also tend to be higher density and slower growing. In shallow, windswept SD natural lakes with limited vegetation, the yellow perch year-class strength tends to be VERY erratic. Overall perch density tends to be low, except for those occasional strong year classes, and these lakes typically have very fast perch growth. The 13-14 inch whoppers often are only 5 or 6 years old. It sounds like PSR has a lake that might fall into this second category.

�What kind of survial do walleye fry have in a fish less lake? 50%? 10%? 5%?� I�d say my best answer here would be �yes.� Walleye fry in a fishless lake can have very high survival, up to and maybe even exceeding (rare) your 50% level. If it�s a cold, late spring and no zooplankton populations have yet begun to develop, then even in a fishless lake, survival can be low (down to 0% in a few cases).

�Is it possible to raise walleye fry in a net pen untill they reach 3"-6", and then release them?� My first thought was that walleye fry are so small (6 mm), and that you�d need a fine mesh size to hold them. I�m not sure how well that would work out in the world of wind and waves.

Dave