I have never heard of any of my local pondowners complain about livery or any off taste of their pellet fed YP. One of the owners regularly fishes Lk Erie for YP&WE so he knows the taste of Lk Erie YP & WE. I, my brother and others have eaten wild caught Ontario YP and do not see a difference in taste of those YP and my pellet fed YP. IMO trout are more likely to have this problem compared to BG and YP probably because trout have more oil in their meat?? Water quality that includes the algal community can have a significiant factor on fish taste.
Quality fish food. First check with the supplier of pellet fed YP for a local brand of fish food to use. Any trout food with 40%+ protein is okay IMO for YP and high protein trout food should be readily available in Canada. Floating food is better for YP compared to sinking food due to seeing whatis getting eaten with less waste.
Structure. Can be two main types - fish attractors and refuge areas. Artificial cover especially finely divided 'stems' is best for small fish protection. Tend to keep it shallower where small fish are often most common and avoiding larger deeper dwelling predators. I would try an gather the rocks in the bottom into one larger pile, or move them to the rock ledge to serve as shallow cover. Shallow rock piles will benefit crayfish populations. Abundant crayfish can help reduce filamentous algae problems.
Forage. To maintain constant minnow type forage, IMO you will need to have additional species besides FHM. You should be able to collect some bluntnose minnows from local streams, sm lakes or beaver ponds. Native shiners from local small lakes could maybe breed in your pond.
Question."Can we start with feeding the perch then stop in 2 years time with more structure and lots of minnows?" Feeding increases fish biomass and stopping pellet feeding results in elimination of the minnow community. IF you stop feeding, do a large fish harvest to compenstate for the high reduction of food input. I doubt very much that after 2-3 yrs and stocking WE & or trout that your minnow community has lots of minnows. Minnows are most likely to be scarce. If minnows are abundant, report back here as to how you did it and what kind they are because many readers here will want to learn your secret methods. After 2-3 years you will be a lot wiser about growing fish in a pond.
Depending on your average summer temperatures you could have trout survive year round in your small Ontario pond with a proper aeration schedule. Mid-summer water temps will have a lot to do with trout survival. Several trout as bonus would co-habitate with YP-WE if surface temperatures were kept below 70-72F. Trout typically spawn in redds built in streams with upwelling water. Very doubtful trout or WE will spawn in your pond. If it happens we would like to hear about it. Remember that the male walleye grow noticably slower than the females so you will see size differences for individuals of the same year class. Again, good management is best when fish numbers are known and densities are well controlled.
Additional information about WE stocking numbers.
Two experts (Willis & Cornwell) who write for PBoss magazine conclude in past articles that best stocking practice for WE is low of 10/ac/yr or high as 20/ac/1-2yr (PBoss Mag Jan-Feb 05, Sep-Oct 05). Back issues are available.
http://www.pondboss.com/back_issues.aspCornwell called walleye "eating machines" and they "often over-eat the forage base". This can be true. LMB are 'eating machines' too. I think it depends. IMO WE are not any more predatory compared to LMB or some other predators given similar circumstances. LMB may actually eat more fish per year compared to WE because LMB can be living in warmer water causing increased metabolism thus requiring more calories per pound of body weight. My PBoss article (Mar-Apr 2003) about walleye in ponds suggested stocking numbers based on fertility and water clarity of the pond. Clear water (5'-10'vis) 8-15/ac, medium clarity (3'-4' vis.) 25-30/ac, and high fertility (15"-2.5' vis.) 40-60/ac. Density would be numbers to have present of all size groups per acre.
I wouldn't be mad if the WE in my YP pond never got any bigger than 14-16". Premium fish. Those are a good size to clean and eat. That size walleye would not be eating larger YP and fewer larger shiners. Selective harvest does help to control size of fish present.
