Bill Cody,
As my research has led me so far, I plan on having the following forage species:
Bluntnose Minnows
Fathead Minnows
Banded Killifish
Lake Chubsuckers
Golden Shiners
Papershell Crayfish
I haven't found out what variety, if any, of grass shrimp would be good in New York state, but I think that they would be great in this pond.
I'm hoping that this will be a good base for the foodchain and I am really hoping to only add one more larger prey item for the bigger smallies.
Any help or advice that you could give would be appreciated.
I am planning on establishing whatever vegetation and structure would be beneficial for the forage species listed. I want the smaller forage (excluding perch or sunfish) to have virtually unlimited spawning areas and a lot of areas that provide cover and a large quantity of insect larvae as well.
I know that this is a lot of information, but there is a lot of planning that goes into this (as you well know)
Thanks
Ronald
