Pickerel.
1. could I get away stocking 20 cp and then not again because thell spawn? INITIALLY I WOULD NOT DEPEND ON CP SPAWNING. IF THEY SPAWN THEN 'WORK THROUGH' THE RESULTING RECRUITMENT BASED ON HOW MANY SURVIVE TO 7" TO 10". GENERALLY THE LARGER THE STOCKER SIZES THE FEWER THAT ARE STOCKED.
2. Can I stock the cp at any size since I will have to catch them? IMO THE LARGER THE STOCKER CP THE FEWER THAT SHOULD BE STOCKED DUE TO THE AMOUNT OF LARGER SIZED FISH THAT EACH CP WILL EAT. I ASSUME YOUR GOAL IS LARGER SIZED CP OF 20"-28"? EXPECT EACH ONE OF THEM TO EAT 8-10 LBS OF FISH EACH YEAR. AN UNFERTILIZED, NON-PELLET FED POND WITH FAIRLY CLEAR WATER (4-6FT) WILL NOT GROW VERY MANY FORAGE FISH POUNDS PER 0.5 ACRE. IMO YOU DO NOT WANT A FOOD SHORTAGE TO OCCUR AND THE CP NOT TO GROW. THIS BECOMES MORE COMPLICATED IF THE CP ARE SPAWNING AND RECRUITING MORE CP INTO THE POND. TOO MANY PREDATORS OVEREATING THE FORAGE FISH IS NOT GOOD FISH MANAGEMENT.
3. How many fish and what species will I have to harvest out of each setup of pond? HARVEST RATE WILL BE DEPENDENT ON POND FERTILITY AND WHAT IT CAN PRODUCE IN TERMS OF FISH PONDS PER ACRE. A 0.5 AC CLEAR WATER POND IMO WILL NOT PRODUCE FOR HARVEST MORE THAN 2 LBS OF PREDATOR AND 10 LBS OF PANFISH PER 1/2 ACRE. IF THE CP AER NOT SPAWNING - RECRUITING THEIR HARVEST WILL BE A PUT & TAKE SITUATION. WITH WATER CLARITY OF 8-12FT THE HARVEST RATES WILL BE LESS DUE TO LESS PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY. The 2 pounds of predator harvest may have to consist of CP 6"-10" long if CP are recruiting new predators each year. A similar situation will apply to LMbass. IMO ideally you want enough panfish to survive each year to replace what is harvested and still have enough panfish broodstock to provide the crop for next year. You determine this by regularly monitoring the numbers and sizes of intermediate sized panfish. Too few intermediates = too many predators. Too many intermediates with few adults = too few predators. It is a balancing act.
I would not use F1 bass in NY. If the fish balance is correct you can easily grow 3-4 lb northern bass in 3-5 yrs. In 10-12 yrs expect a well fed northern bass to be 6-8lbs; a very nice bass anywhere.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 05/29/14 11:23 AM.
