My guess is that 'captwho' will have a very hard time locating walleye and even YP in AZ. I think RBT may also be fairly difficult to source for him. According to Shorty's post above FHM and GSH can maintain breeder population numbers with the RBT. I have never read how well RBT will prey on YP. I doubt RBT will be good predators of YP due to different habitat niche behavior. I would not want to see someone stock YP-RBT only to have a pond infested with 4"-6" unharvestable skinny YP. It is a risk one has to IMO evaluate carefully. One might be able to catch lots of YP but are they usable as table food?. Overpopulated YP are also known to be a nuisance to swimmers; another disadvantage for the goals of the project.
I would like to read any research that indicates that RBT will effectively control YP.
Captwho may find that RBT will not consistently survive year round in his pond. He may need to periodically restock after summer fish kills and change his goals. YP then becomes a more viable option to be used with SMB, HSB or another predator based on what fish species are available to him.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 02/28/15 01:44 PM.
