Help on stocking suggestions

Have a 6 acre sand pit that was originally stock by game and parks 25 yrs ago and is now private. It has a ton of smaller bass now, few black crappie but the ones i catch are 10-16in, gills from 5-10in, catfish, and carp. Water is pretty clear being a sand pit. Little structure at this point but i am building a fair amount to drop down. Mostly pvc style to eliminate snags. My main question is im wanting to add perch and possibly some walleye to this. Please help on advice of if thats a good idea and if so how many to stock. I will only be putting in 5-6in fish so they survive. All advice is appreciated. Thanks. Lake is 25ft at deepest.

Yellow perch need relatively dense cover to lay their egg strands on to successfully hatch out. "C" trees are ideal for this purpose so you have a self sustaining population of them. Walleye will probably not reproduce in a sand pit but should gain some weight especially if both perch and shad both are present.

Thanks lowell. Appreciate it. I plan on dropping some cedar trees down. What depth would be best? 8ft? I expect no reproducing of walleye. A friend is willing to pay for them so my biggest concern is if they will hurt anything. Main goal is to keep the crappie in tact while creating a nice perch lake. No shad are present that i am aware of at this time. Any more advice? Thanks again

How many perch and walleye would you recommend stocking the first year and years after if need be? Keep in mind i plan on stocking at least 6in in both species. Im not as avid about the walleye so more interested in the perch. Thanks

Best to contact your state fisheries biologists for advice .

Here in KY we can go to the County Ag Agent and he/she will evaluate your impoundment.
I'm sure your state has an equivalent agency. Your tax dollars pay for this, so you might as well use the resource.

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Originally Posted by Jwetovick

Have a 6 acre sand pit that was originally stock by game and parks 25 yrs ago and is now private. It has a ton of smaller bass now, few black crappie but the ones i catch are 10-16in, gills from 5-10in, catfish, and carp. Water is pretty clear being a sand pit. Little structure at this point but i am building a fair amount to drop down. Mostly pvc style to eliminate snags. My main question is im wanting to add perch and possibly some walleye to this. Please help on advice of if thats a good idea and if so how many to stock. I will only be putting in 5-6in fish so they survive. All advice is appreciated. Thanks. Lake is 25ft at deepest.

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So, you have tons of small Bass...a few Large Black slabs, big gills, catfish, and carp....and you want to add more predators and try to grow perch?????? Talking about a CRASH that's coming!
You do understand that the BIGGEST predator of the Perch will be the Walleye....A Walleye's favorite food is it's little cousin. A walleye population will keep an entire Perch population small...they pick out the largest Perch for themselves. We find Jumbo Perch in the bellies of BIG Gators (Walleye).
Perch are one of the WORST swimming fish that there is...they are easy prey for any predator...that is why it is crucial to understand their needs with spawning habitat and cover!
Five and Six inch perch are really going to feed the bass and cats well...I'm sure the whole Predator/Prey balance is out of whack, so you'll be feeding everything in the pond with your Perch sushi!:)

IMHO, you need cover...ALOT of cover...Cedar will be good for Perch! But before thinking about Perch, you need shallow cover and plenty of it...stacked untreated wood pallets, Christmas trees, cedar, DENSE THICK cover....then you need to add minnows, or some other forage to take pressure off of the Perch...the minnows/baitfish need to spawn before you add the Perch...the Perch will need something to eat also...you also need to catch ALOT of Bass and Cats and get them thinned out so the perch survive to spawn.
Walleye will not spawn in a pond or most lakes....they need current, sandy gravel, and no sediment...the eggs have to be highly oxygenated and they need to get some Vitamin D from the sun....rivers flowing into lakes are perfect.

When you get Massive amounts of cover for baitfish and the Perch in the lake, and build a good forage base, and thin some Predators, then you can start trying to establish some Perch!
Good Luck!

This is exactly why recommended adding the shad; read somewhere that for some as of this time unexplained reason that shad cannot grow big enough in any body of water NOT to be able to be easily eaten by higher tier predators. Do not know what this seemingly built in genetic "restriction" is evolved for but apparently this "rule" is valid. If the predators present can only swallow a 3" shad, the shad do NOT grow larger than 3" long, just barely old enough to spawn once. If the predators can only swallow a 12" shad, shad will only grow to 12"...and would LOVE to catch something able to choke down a whole 12" shad ! Shad convert plankton directly into mobile swimming fish food on the fin and can significantly "boost" a pond`s productivity.