Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - New 2.2 acre pond walleye perch stockinh

I have a recently finished 2.2 acre pond.
- 30% 18-22� deep - some large rock reefs
- 40% 10-12� deep
- rest slopped sides 3-1, big beach area, pebbled area next to beach , 60�x80� refuge area 2-5� deep with rocks logs and pebbles

My plan is to have a forage pond.

My main goal is to have a good fishing pond catching good sized WE, SMB, HSB, and have yellow perch as forage and a bonus catch for table. Hoping to Manage perch to be able to get a few 12�+ here and there. Also considering RES.

I have currently 6� of water in the deep area and in July added a small amount of FHM�s not thinking they would make it. Well yesterday I walked the bank and saw a decent amount of fry and slightly larger FHM�s shooting around. Wish I would�ve added more.

I was wondering a few things.

1. Can I stock more minnows this weekend and maybe get some last chance breeding before end of August early September??
2. Possible to stock feed trained YP in spring and feed to preserve minnow population enough to have them breed next summer? If not I may do the forage pond in early spring.
3. Can I stock YP,WE,and SMB in any combination next spring if any at all??

I�ll post pics of pond later.

Chubsuckers have been researched and published as good forage for SMB ponds. Researchers did not see excess turbidity from them. Only a very few if only one place (Ohio) I know of sells small chubsuckers as aquarium fish (expensive per fish). There has been a "fair" amount of past PBoss forum discussions / threads about using chubsuckers in ponds. Do a google search of - Pond boss forum chubsucker chubsuckers or lake chubsucker. Lake chubsucker is different specie than creek chubsucker. They may also spawn differently. Do good homework.

Most if not all suckers (Catostomidae) reproduce only in streams or stream-like conditions. The main problem with suckers as I see it would be if a pond has too many per acre and they roil the water searching for food that is in limited supply. Roiled water significantly reduces primary productivity and thus carrying capacity.

Since RES do not produce very many offspring you could add 200 this early fall so they might spawn for you in 2020. Do not know of any current growers of pellet trained SMB. There are some farms in eastern OH that grow SMB. Do your homework and also check with Ohio Aquaculture group. I suggest waiting until the YP have spawned before adding predators. You should build a good forage base prior to predators. SMB can be hard to locate. Note your pellet raised YP might be skewed towards females if you only buy one size so buy mixed sizes when getting them to insure some smaller males in the group. Stock YP at 150-250/ac if eating pellets.

I would first focus on HSB and SMB both 20-25/ac and then keep WE as bonus fish low density 5-7/acre until you see how the forage fish handle the predation pressure. After 4-5 years when the SMB have spawned, you will then get a good estimate of numbers of forage fish to predator balance. Let body condition and growth of the predators be your guide.