Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Newbie ... Existing Farm Pond Northern MI

Aerating that pond in winter with no one there to monitor proper winter pump operation will be problematic. Simple problems can occur to inhibit pump operation during ice cover of winter and then no aeration will happen while you are away. Pump could easily damage itself due to check valve problems of sub zero freezing conditions. If you ran pump constantly during winter that may help reduce potential problems. Power failures during winter will throw a wrench in well laid aeration plans.

I did not mean yellow perch minnows. Small or young YP are called fingerlings not minnows. Minnows are species of fish that belong to the minnow family (Cyprinidae) of fish.

Digging the pond deeper will not change the basic water chemistry of the pond. Oxygen concentrations and the pond's annual oxygen budget will be most affected by any pond clean-out and deepening. You should get Managing Michigan's Ponds For Sportfishing; available at MSU extension offices. They recomend MI ponds have 25% of the basin be 15 ft deep and 18ft to 25ft is distinctly better to minimize fish winter kills, esp if snow is not removed during winter. Getting the pond PROPERLY rebuilt will be your first and biggest problem. Bedrock in your location may be a problem for pond depth.

Hatcheries in MI are pushing LMB because:
1. They are easier and more profitable to raise.
2. They work very well with bluegill or hybrid BG as a panfish. Most MI hatcheries sell hybrid BG.
3. LMB will work good with bluegills or hybrid bluegills which most hatcheries in MI push this combination. I will work for you.

I recommend SMB with Yperch because;
1. they naturally and behaviorly work well together and compliment each other. Use bluntnose minnows with YP-SMB. All three naturally co-exist in MI and Canada. Minnows from MI beaver ponds would be a good source for minnows that are able to spawn in a pond. Use your minnow trap for this. Local UP Bait dealers who collect their own fish will be able to help with proper forage fish selection. I can provide names of minnows to search for.
2. LMB have too big of a mouth and eat too big of perch unless one keeps the majority of LMB below 12". LMB with perch results in a lot fewer large harvestable perch.
3. LMB prevent establishment of a good minnow forage base for the perch.
4. SMB are not as prolific as LMB and thus don't tend to over-run the perch population as easily as LMB.
5. SMB at lower and reasonable numbers (when managed) will also heavily prey on crayfish and other organisms to in the end provide a larger forage base for the perch so YP utimately grow better. Good mangement is improtant with this. Minnow trap will help again with this.
6. BG being a warm water fish in upper MI will not grow very fast due to a short growing season whereas YP as a cool water fish will tend to, overall, do better than BG in Michigan's UP.

7. A SMB-perch-minnow pond can be easily converted to a LMB-bluegill dominated pond whenever you chose whereas a LMB-BG pond can not be converted to a SMB-perch pond unless you renovate the whole pond.