Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose New Stocking of a repaired WPA dam

Hi Joelleye -

Reviewing your post - cool looking place, congrats on the launch of your project. What an exciting time for you and your family.

OK, your goals are harvest and year round fishing with friends and family.

You mention you flooded some dugout ponds to incorporate into your newly constructed larger pond. I worry about the resident fishery of one of the smaller ponds - you noted GSF - what else? Nothing...are you sure? No, no one ever can be certain. That's why probably the wisest course of action would have been to drain and nuke with rotenone or lime and start with a clean slate. For the sake of this post, let's just assume GSF were the only species present in the pond. Just bear in mind the presence of certain species can make achieving fishery goals down the line very difficult or impossible - that's why I mention the importance of starting with tabula rasa.

My feedback on species on your wishlist:

Crappie will likely serve as a management issue for you down the road without intensive management. This includes trapping, seining, and heavy angling pressure/harvest - and still that might not be enough. I advise against stocking crappie without a dense population of apex predators present with gape capabilities to handle 4-6" stunted fish. Presence of LMB and NP might make them feasible.

RES are risky that far North. I wouldn't stake my fishery on RES serving as my primary panfish in SD - too risky. You might make it for 2-3 years then have winter kill.

BG are a panfish option, but if you opt for SMB/YP/WE as your predator fish, they will likely be unsuccessful as BG population management tools due to their gape limitations. BG population will likely stunt at 4-6".

PS are an option - they have higher fecundity than RES, but lower than BG I believe, and attain a smaller top end size. They may be easier to manage than BG should you choose SMB/WE/YP as predators.

SMB, WE, YP, HSB, NP and LMB are all options depending on your goals.

If you were my client, these are the fishery options I would recommend:

1. SMB, YP, WE, HSB, PS, GSH [golden shiners], Grass Shrimp, Crayfish

I'd recommend installing at least one feeder to help boost the YP, SMB, HSB and GSH. You could opt for BG as panfish option, but I believe they'll present more of a management challenge than PS. You'll need to supplementally ladder stock HSB and WE annually to provide several year classes and replace your harvest. If you don't see SMB recruitment, you'll need to add areas of rock to serve as spawning bed areas or supplementally stock.

2. BG, YP, HSB, NP, LMB, BCP, GSH [you can try, likely won't make it], Crays, Grass Shrimp

I don't have any experience managing a fishery like this, but have fished some BOWS with these species present and they eventually achieve some kind of balance - but there's always a tradeoff. I think the combination of NP, LMB, and HSB could help manage the BG and BCP population, but will also hammer the YP hard - perhaps leading to extirpation. You could end up with a NP, LMB, BG or BCP population management issue with which to deal - but it's an option if you must have BCP. You'll need an apex predator present with appropriate gape to prey on 4-8" BCP. That's where the LMB and NP play a role.

If you were my client, I'd recommend option 1. If it's not achieving your goals, you can always stock a few BG, LMB, and NP and change directions. However, you can't revert to option 1 from option 2 unless you rotenone and start from scratch.

You shouldn't have any issues sourcing these fish in SD, but if you need help let me know. I always raise SMB annually, and will begin YP this Spring, too. I'm also here to help on the GSH and Grass Shrimp - doing group orders on both this Spring for several guys.

Hope some of this helps...let us know what questions you have. At this point you have to make some decisions on what you can sacrifice from your original fishery design. I have a fishery much like option 1, and it's very rewarding on both the ice and open water. Allows for harvest and plenty of angling return.

If you decide on a direction, our next segment will focus on a stocking strategy and approximate costs. Exciting times - can't wait to see how things develop for you!