Bill, informative and insightful as always! I couldn't pay for such good advice.
If I get it, the order of addition should be:
First summer add FHM, GS, YP and attempt to establish eel grass.
Next spring, after YP spawn, add SMB.
Second spring, after SMB spawn, add PS and crayfish.
Add minows and chubs from local streams. ( "Stocking personally collected fish from another water body" would be officially forbidden under NYS law although I assume people do it
https://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/25026.html)
To answer your question, I plan to get PS from a local hatchery.
I have piles of tree roots, brush, and cut up trees that I plan to add for forage cover. I have rushes, that seem to thrive in partial submersion, that I intend to transplant around the pond edge, and plan to add pickerel and iris as emergent cover and GSH spawning material. I also have some rocks, concrete chunks and slabs to add downwind for crayfish. Last summer we had lilies and some FA in 250gal stock tanks with GSH and they had no problem spawning so they should be fine.
I will attach a diagram of the pond we are building with proposed structure below.
Thanks Bill, your post is exactly what I needed.
