SetterGuy,
I have no predators and stocked 100 perch in a .25 acre pond. I think I had a tiny amount of recruitment the first year judging by a few 3-4" size perch present now. I had more recruitment this spring even though I took out many egg strands.
When I hand feed I also see lots of 2-4" fish flashing, jumping and going nuts. I always assumed they were GSH YOY but couldn't get a positive ID. I put my new minnow trap in the vicinity of the hand feeding and I can trap a handful of 3-4 YP only in it. Whether that means the 'minnows' chasing the pellets around the shallows and pushing them around are teams of YP young or if there can be some GSH in there I can't really say for sure. I would expect to see stripes on the YP young but the ones that I can see in the shallows chasing the pellets don't have stripes but they don't stop moving long enough to be sure.
Understocking the SMB was a good idea.
Your GSH should be about 4-5" by now? Not sure if they would have produced young this summer but there is a good chance they could have.
Glad to hear your FHM can survive and sustain. I can't say the same for myself.
