Looking for opinions, recommendations, etc. Just finished my first pond it is 1/4 acre 12’ deep, water table pond, in northern Michigan near Traverse city. My two objectives with it is to raise food and have somewhere for the kids to fish. Based on my testing of the test hole it will be rather cool low 60s in summer, but that may change now that it is bigger. I have done indoor culture of warm water species before including tilapia and shrimp. I would like to establish a couple breeding species in the pond that compliment each other, provide fingerlings for intensive cage or raceway culture and not eat rainbow trout fingerlings that will be stocked and harvested. Ultimately I will be the apex predator to cull the excess, but would like to have the fish gaining from each other as well. So far I have been thinking about the following combination.
Crayfish
Some sort of minnow probably FHM
Perch
Warmouth
Annually stocked RBT
Will be aerated and fed
My thought is that large warmouth will hopefully eat up to 4-5” perch but hopefully not 7-8” RBT. Warmouth are supposed to be more hearty than bluegill which would be necessary for my intensive biofloc experimenting. I am open to other species as well, even ones that are not traditional marketed. Chubs, etc.
I do have a few specific questions about warmouth.
1)Do they taste more like a bluegill or more like a bass?
2)Can they be stocked at the same rate as blue gill or do they need more room?
3) If I took 4-5” warmouth in the spring and feed them heavy in a cage is it reasonably to think they would be harvestable by fall?
Thanks for your time and thoughts.
Dave
