It's been a few years since I found this site and got the bug. My first small pond (about .10 acre) has about 3 dozen Brook trout in it and 2 rainbows that we just enjoy feeding and watching them grow.
Last month, I expanded another pond (my second project) from about 1/4 acre to about a half an acre. This pond is fed by numerous underground springs which are flowing well even now after nearly a month of no rain. I have about a dozen rainbows left in it from before the expansion that are loving the new elbow room. I had 80 in it this spring prior to the expansion, but the Great Blue Herons beat on them pretty badly. They seem to be unable to get to them now with more deeper water & structure in place. They also don't seem to like flying into 30 pound Power Pro braided line stretch tight across the pond. I've added 1200 fathead minnows to what was already a decent population and they appear to be producing well. I've also added about 100 crayfish. I'd like to add about 100- 150 rainbow next spring along with either bluegill or yellow perch. It makes sense that the bows could eat the perch for a longer period than the bluegill due to their shape. But... I'd kind of prefer bluegill to perch. I will be supplemental feeding. My hope is that the bows would help keep numbers of small fish in check if I limit feeding in June & July when the fry are present. This pond ranges from about 18', pretty evenly sloped, with about a quarter of the pond being 4' or less to aid in natural food production & diversity and to help it warm up a bit.
I needed material to accomplish the expansion of the larger pond, and in doing that, dug a second pond next to this one. This one is about 1/4 acre and is about 12' deep, pretty uniform, not very diverse. It has less flow than the bigger pond, so I left it about 2' lower in elevation and siphon off the larger pond to supplement the flow to this one. It also got 1,200 fatheads and 100 crayfish but has no other fish in it currently.
Last night when I stopped to add crayfish, about 45-50 wood ducks flew out of the bigger pond. (they never came when it was smaller) I've watched a pair of mink playing. Kingfishers taking fatheads off the surface. A flock of Cedar Waxwings comes for bugs every evening. Big bullfrogs have moved in. All in one month! Just love seeing all life coming about.
So... my question... Except for the dozen rainbows in the half acre pond... these two are clean slates this spring, with a good forage base in place. What would you stock & why? I live in Northern New York. Much of this will be C&R but- I'd like to eat panfish from them. A local supplier recommends Black Crappie for this but from much I've read here- I'm leery of that advice. I like perch, bluegill, crappie. They're all good. Even bass taste ok when caught through the ice, so they're an option too. Thanks in advance for your opinion & advice... and thanks also for the many hours I've spent here getting completely pond bitten!
