I initially questioned if this combination would work well. Overstocking HSB with the HBG should control the young HBG. It could work with BG however there would have to be more HSB/ac for BG compared to HBG due primarily to number of young produced by BG vs HBG. The stocking combo did work for yellow perch in a 1/2 ac pond to the point the HSB over controlled the YP and almost no YP recruitment occurred in a clean bottomed pond. One good feature of using HSB and their characteristic of no reproduction, is if you have too many take some out; not enough add some. HSB will heavily feed on the pellets, however if there are not enough pellets and too many HSB they should resort to eating small HSB. At times you may have to remove some larger F2-F4 generation HBG (4"-6") when they might become too abundant as you are modifying the numbers of HSBass. Now the big question is how many would the right number for your pond? Several things will contribute to the answer: feeding and frequency, aeration, weed growth, amout of structure - habitat, planned harvest rate.
I think a good plan would incorporate stocking of a few HSB each year or every two years to maintain numerous year classes of HSB each feeding on a different predominant size of BG/HBG while a annual harvest of a few larger HSB also occurred annually. HSB in good conditions in north central US can live to be pretty old - 19-21yrs.
""what kind of structure for HSB?"" HSB are an open water fish they don't need structure and structure may actually hinder their abilty to prey on fish.
If you want a swimming pool pond with numerous fish, you will constantly fight string algae and weeds for as long as you own the pond especially true if you feed the fish. Feeding fish produces more fish, more fish produce more manure, more manure produces more plant growth and lots of it. This concept is trying to manage a water body at two ends of the spectrum high fish - low plant growth; two opposite types of water quality.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 04/30/11 08:45 PM.
