An answer to your PM is use rotenone to eradicate all existing fish. You or your designee will need an aquatic pesticide license to purchase rotenone. If you are going to be eating fish from the pond, I strongly suggest that you do not let anyone talk you into using chlorine to kill it which will in the natural aquatic environment form trihalomethanes a persistant, bioaccumulative, fat soluable toxin in water bodies. Emulsified aquaeous rotenone (Prenfish or similar) readily decomposes into benign compounds.
Fish
CJBS has provided a possible stocking plan that could work. Now that I know what you goals are for BG (10") and YP (12"), I can better provide some pertinent advice or at least opinions.
IMO you are doing a combination that is goes against the natural habits of several of your fish species and your stated plans for management and your goals.
I would not put reproducing BG in a pond with WE, and HSB- YP (both pellet fed) with supplimental additions of minnows/shiners and expect them (WE and or YP)to even come close to controlling BG numbers. The only way I would use BG in that stocking plan is to either use male only BG or include LMB or implement a rigorous annual BG removal with traps and seines (a lot of work you would likely tire of and may not be affective at). IF you include LMB then do not expect good growth of WE or YP. But BG will do good and WE-YP just marginal. With LMB abundant enough to control BG, YP recruitment will suffer and survial of any restocked WE will suffer dramatically. Even more dramatically than when just adult WE are the major predators.
I have never seen WE effectively control BG in a pond when YP minnows and shiners are also present. As CJBS says it can work but expect "You will have to most likely assist the WE and HSB by removing many middle sized BG from your pond". Others may disagree. I would like so see someone near me try the combination you propose and prove me wrong so I can visit, sample the pond and that way I learn.
Do not count on HSB to eat very many BG when HSB are offered pellets. Without regular pellet feedings your HSB will not come close to their potential. I would dearly like to see a food habits study of regularly pellet fed HSB when combined with BG.
However what you propose to stock is VERY feasable IF you stock just or only male BG into your fish combination. No reproducing BG. Those BG stocked grow great. Readily feed on pellets. Every BG caught is a big one. Easy to manage. Main drawback is no natural recruitment which you really don't need and want. The other fish species will do fine. I have seen that plan work very effectively. To learn how to stock and manage only male BG you should do appropriate reseach here (search feature) and get and read the articles about Behemoth Bluegills in the 3 back issues of Pond Boss mag where the concept is thourghly described (Mar-Apr, May-Jun, Jul-Aug 2006).
In a one acre pond the YP, HSB, WE and few harvested BG per yr will provide plenty of fish (close to 80-100lbs) one family can eat per year providing you follow your stated plans.
Bottom Aeration will allow you to better achieve the above goals. New ponds can usually fairly easily get by without aeration. But it is the long term pond and fishery (12-20yrs) that I am thinking about. Without proper or adequate aeration water quality will prematurely decline, less fish biomass will be grown per year, oragnic muck will accumulate faster than normal, chances of summer fish kill increase due to artificially enriched conditions (supplimental natural & artificial feedings), YP ad WE will not be provided adequate cool water refuge areas in the hottest parts of the summer, and their overall condition will not be as good compared to having proper bottom aeration. My experience with WE and YP and in your climate zone one does not need to run propely sized bottom aerators 24/7. Run the aerator to just enough keep the pond circulated, the bottom oxygenated and a slighly cooler water zone at the bottom.
Do some more reading and homework then come back with more questions.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 02/19/09 08:45 PM.
