SMB and YP in the same pond is a very good naturally occurring combination. Ideally there should be adequate cover and habitat to allow a native forage fish and diverse invertebrate community to all co-exist. LMB are not as compatible with YP as they are with bluegill(BG). LMB almost always decimate the YP after several years.
The main thing I've learned from frequent use of this combination is to not allow the SMB to over populate and over eat the perch population. Plus, note the perch in a weedy pond can easily become too abundant and need to be manually reduced accordingly. As with any reproducing fish community it is important to manage it and maintain a numbers balance of predators and prey to achieve ones goals of either skewed towards big perch or large bass or a balanced mixture of both sport fishes.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 04/16/20 09:21 AM.
