Based on your stated goals and preferences I would definitely go with CC but I might lean toward a replacement for the YP. I think I would lean toward walleye if they can be sourced and stocked in your New York location. Walleye probably will not reproduce and you could use them to thin or prevent CC recruits. If their numbers are modest (say 20 to 40 per acre) you could grow some large ones. If they happened to reproduce they may stunt but the numbers should be fewer than YP so they should be larger than YP even if they don't grow at the full potential of walleye. (In that worst case scenario Walleye are your YP surrogate that wouldn't be as prone to stunting). You would probably have to ladder walleye which could be every 3 or 4 years or annually. I think this scenario would prevent over population of CC with modest harvest and modest feeding. So I would encourage providing CC nesting habitat to encourage reproduction. I think this combination would play nice with spotfin shiners or satinfin shiners whichever is native in your watershed. Also I think bluntnose minnows would be a good addition for you. I would be very surprised if these minnow could not flourish in a Walleye/CC pond.


It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so - Will Rogers