Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Walleye spawn!!?!?

So here's one for ya....I was swimming in our small pond with the kids Tuesday afternoon....beautiful day and the water clarity was absolutely amazing. Just a great day.

My daughter and I are floating on a couple of noodles just hanging out when several small (2-3 inches) fish start swimming around us, investigating things. It's obvious some of them are LMB but there are others with a similar shape that don't seem to be. I start working on catching one with my hands. I catch a couple of the LMB and then I clearly catch a small WE!

I drained, killed off and restocked this pond a couple of years ago with the goal of a YP/RES fishery with WE and SMB as my predators. It did not go as planned as at least one LMB survived long enough to spawn. BUT - it certainly appears that the WE figured out a way to spawn. There's no way the 2.5 inch fish I hand caught could be 2+ years old.

I don't know a ton about WE spawning requirements, I just knew (or sure thought I did) that they couldn't spawn in a pond. How is this possible?

Do you have any silt-free rocky areas near shore?

I do indeed...the entire East end is rock lined, with several spawning areas I built for SMB.

Did I accidentally build an acceptable WE spawning bed?

Isn't it nice when things unexpectedly go your way! Congrats!

Quite possibly!!

I've heard of HSB spawning in one pond.

So never say never.

I have seen walleye egg development and hatching in several ponds where there is extensive rocky shoreline areas and there is good clear, water quality to keep eggs and the developing larvae well oxygenated as they develop toward hatching. Some current or wave action helps keep eggs oxygenated and particulate settlings from accumulating on the eggs. Turbid water especially with suspended clay-silt acts to smother walleye eggs that need high oxygenated conditions.

dLawrence - for reference what is the usual water clarity in early spring of March when walleye would be spawning in your pond?

Is the source of the Walleye stock known? Up north, if am correct, has two forms. One is associated with lakes and the other is associated with streams / rivers. In Missouri we have a Black River population that is difficult to rear in ponds compared to stocks that I think come from out of state.

Bill,

This year it was and remains outstanding. 6 foot visibility plus. Tuesday I'd say it was closer to 8. And it's been like that most of the year.

Not sure Jim....I didn't ask the guy that brought them what stock they came from.

DL that's great....been here for 9 years and this is a first IIRC - verified pond WE recruitment. Super cool!

It's freaking awesome for sure - no pic unfortunately as I was in the middle of the pond floating on a noodle but 100% it was a little WE.

I guess even a blind squirrel finds a nut occasionally!

Your clear pondwater of 6ft -8ft with reduced turbidity and rocky habitat are two of the key items that allowed the eggs to fully develop to hatching. Optimum rock spacing and crevice sizes are also important for egg protection and to reduce predation of the developing eggs and early yolk fry. Lots of critters like to eat scattered and unprotected fish eggs.

Do you have any pictures of the rocky habitat? I am hoping to get to a walleye pond sometime and pictures would help me select the rock size to place in spawning areas, hopefully in the inflow area (ditch catching field tiles) which runs pretty good and clear some years during early spring.

It might be sharp to keep some of the young for use as brood to stock another similar pond. There may be some genetic basis for the successful recruitment.

Some walleye spawn on submergent vegetation.

Reproductive success may also be a function of how larval, fry and fingerling stages fair under pressure from larger fish. That can be influenced by genetics. Some fish vary more within a species than what the publications indicate. To my understanding, nobody has really gave such much of a look.