As some of you have read in other posts I am looking at the possibility of a smallmouth bass pond in the New York state.
I have been doing a lot of research on the possible forage species involved and then started thinking about how to stock them once I decided on what fish would be there.
My question is, if you had the following forage on your draft board (I know, NFL draft humor...the Jets had a great weekend LOL) how would you add them to the pond?
I was thinking something like this:
Year One:
Lake Chubsuckers - I want these guys to have a significant head start on everything else, because I want a sizable breeding population of bigger chubs by the time smallies get in here.
Year Two:
Grass Shrimp - although I have no idea what species would be good this far north.
Papershell Crayfish - which aren't always available, but I had considered "farming" my own while the chubs were doing their thing during year one.
Bluntnose Minnows - again, the same as the crawdads, I was going to source a small number and see if I couldn't turn them into a swarm and add them in year two.
Year Three:
Golden Shiners - I don't want to give them a huge head start on the smallies, but I would like to have them up and spawning at full speed by the time the bass get in there.
Year Four:
Pumpkinseed Sunfish or Yellow Perch? - I'm still weighing the pros and cons of these guys? The piscivorous nature of the perch vs the hard to swallow shape of the sunfish? Any thoughts will always be read and considered.
Smallmouth Bass - Obviously these guys go in here. This is the whole point of having this pond is to be able to catch nice smallies.
Sorry for the long winded post, I am just trying to figure out the best way to do this. As you can see, I don't mind waiting to have bass in the pond. I have patience, I just want to make sure that it gets done correctly.
Is there anything that you think I missed that could be good for the pond?
Is there a certain species of frog that might be more valuable than another?
Thanks for all the help.
Ronald
