Understood on the electrofishing, I figured it was worth asking the question. Thank you for the explanation.
For the forage pond, we actually already have a 3" trash pump and hoses we bought to help supplement the other pumps when we were digging our main pond. So we should be good there. If I keep it level with my main pond, it will have ground water seeping in all year round, so letting it dry over winter won't be an option. But doesn't sound like that is a necessity. Or if I keep the deep end of the forage pond to 3-4' depth, that would be above the normal ground water level, and I could put a liner in and pump it dry in the fall.
Great to hear on your success with the SMB controlling the GSF. Between that and the trapping, I feel a LOT better than I did a couple weeks ago. I know it will be a lot of work, but it sounds like a good balance is at least attainable.
I'll definitely be reporting back to everyone how things go, I've learned so much from others who have done the same. This forum is great.
