If you are buying small this year's hatch of perch, I think you are making your first major mistake. For growing large perch you should be buying guaranteed pellet trained yellow perch that are 4"-6" and some of last year's pellet perch that are 6"-9" long. Buy perch by the each not by the pound unless the perch are 8"+ long. Be careful and cautious where you buy your brood stock initial stocker fish. They will be the basis of the genetics of the sport fish in the pond and will govern how well all fish progress from the start. Choose wisely. When feeding the perch pellets you can stock 350-500/ac (225-300 4"-6" and 100-200 6"-9"). No pellet feeding, then reduce total YP stocked to 150-300/ac.
I would start with 70-80 walleye and see how they progress and grow. Then stock 15-25 walleye each year for the next 4 years. At yr 3 and there after you can harvest 10-12 of the largest WE/yr.
Don't plant evergreens esp long needle ones closer to the shore than 50ft 70-100ft is better windbreak placement or you will get lots of wind blown pine needles in the pond - not good for water quality. I regret having evergreens too close to my pond.
If you are having to add FHM after the initial stocking with your GSH-YP-WE fishery, you have too many predators; reduce predator biomass, usu start with YP first. You should buy a minnow trap to monitor the shiner-minnow and small perch densities and size structure. Build yourself a larger mesh fish trap using 1/2 mesh. Fish traps are valuable tools for fish managers. Search fish traps here on the PBForum. There are some very good homemade fish traps shown and discussed.
Don't worry about WE having shade.
Use more rock boulder areas than trees for the WE-YP. They actually don't need structure to do well. Structure is mostly for the anglers. How far can fish go to hide in 1.2 ac??? Trees will quickly rot up in several years except for the 3"-4"+dia branches which Xmas tree rotting schedule might be shown in the posts of the thread for Structure Archives. Read the Structure, Cover etc thread here in the Common Q&A Archives for ideas for more permanent underwater habitat-structure.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 10/16/13 07:34 PM.
