I drained my pond last year to try and locate a leak. I did find a sand vein and cut it off and removed all the muck. (appx 40 hours on a bobcat) I am not sure if it's fixed yet or not, but wanted to get some stocking info just in case. Before I drained it we had BG , LMB and CC. We aren't so much worried about fishing as we are for recreation but would like to be able to have some fish to eat now and then. The problem we had swimming with BG stocked is the nibbling on swimmers. The only issue I had with the LMB is they completely wiped out any bullfrogs we had. I don't plan on stocking any CC this time because I think they tend to stir up the bottom a little and they take up a lot of resources. The pond is going to be about 3/4 acre and 14 ft deep when (if) full. When we drained it I had 60 CC about 1 /12 pounds each. Took them down to a friends pond. Too many for my pond I think. I have been reading on here about yellow perch. Will these keep any unwanted crawfish out? Or will I still need to stock LMB? Can they be stocked in Illinois? Are they good eating? Will I still need a predator to control them? I plan on buying some FHM first thing this spring when they have the fish days going on at our local farm store and was wanting to get some ideas on what else to get.
Another issue, what about an easy, fast growing plant for fish cover? Any ideas? I have a primrose that always seems to come back from time to time even after spraying. Is this something I should encourage? Or try to eradicate like I have been doing?
