Originally Posted By: FishinRod
The "two pond option" was kind of part B of my fish contamination question.

If I did manage to establish a viable YP-WE-SMB fishery, and some BG or LMB made it into that pond, would a few invaders eventually take over?

For my conditions and climate, I think BG would easily be the most successful forage fish and LMB would be the most successful top predator. Once they entered, would a few large adult BG or LMB be able to establish a breeding population against the existing "inferior" fish that already occupy that niche? In the alternative, could a breach of several thousand fry establish a breeding population, or would they experience close to 100% mortality due to predation?


1. My take: Yes, the LMB and BG would impact your WE/YP/SMB fishery. The LMB would hammer your YP and Shiners hard, but would also target your BG. Due to WE/YP/SMB limited gape as compared to LMB, their forage options are likewise limited. Removing large numbers of YP and GSH leaves a lot less for the WE and SMB to prey upon. My thought is without supplemental stockings of advanced fish [expensive] and supplemental pellet feeding for your SMB and YP you'd eventually have a pond full of a few large SMB, WE, and YP and the rest dominated by BG and LMB.

2. A BG/LMB fishery can absorb invasive species much better than the WE/SMB/YP fishery which I didn't do a good job of conveying in my orignal post.

If it were my pond, and I knew there was a strong risk of invasive species entering my fishery either through flooding or flow through, I would design my fishery accordingly and go with LMB/BG/RES/HSB/GSH.

If you have the pockets to buy advanced fish to stock periodically to supplement WE/YP/SMB populations or have the patience to cage and grow out those fish to stock later, then you still have that fishery option available.

I think the idea of two ponds with different fisheries is great, if it's fiscally feasible. Just be sure your SMB/WE/YP fishery has no chance of being flooded or it's a wasted effort. Can you ensure it's "purity"? How will you irrigate the pond or is the watershed sufficient?

Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau

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