NEW IDEAS FOR THE OLD FARM POND

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Yellow perch (Perca flavescens): The yellow perch is among the tastier of the freshwater species, but it's not advisable for use in farm ponds, as it's prone to stunting and preys heavily upon bass spawn.

Green sunfish (Lepomis cyaneltus): This fish is atypical among the Lepomis species in that it has a gaping mouth like the basses . . . and this is a tip-off to its feeding behavior. A mediocre food fish that competes with the larger predators, the green sunfish should be avoided in farm pond fish culture.

Grass carp: The Asian grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus)—also called the "white amur"—has long been touted as an ideal fish for aquaculture, but it has little appeal for the farm pond owner. As a voracious herbivorous fish, this species could be useful for one-time stocking in weed-choked ponds . . . but a body of water with enough plants to maintain a sizable grass carp population would be useless for hook-and-line fishing (conversely, in a properly managed, largely weed-free pond, grass carp would need to be heavily fed). This species won't reproduce in the farm pond, either . . , and it's illegal in much of the United States, to boot.

Buffalofish: The bigmouth buffalofish (Ictiobus cyprinellus) is sometimes cultured as a food fish, but this species has no place in the farm pond, since it's a filter feeder and practically impossible to harvest by hook and line.

Tilapia: This fish is almost as hard to catch on hook and line as the buffalofish. In addition, tilapia will survive the winter outdoors only in the southernmost region of the U.S.... and in that part of the country, the importation of the potentially fastspreading fish is justifiably illegal.

SOURCES OF FISH

Whatever you do, don't stock your farm pond with small fish taken from the natural environment. You should even be suspicious of a neighbor's pond, unless you know for certain that he or she has stocked and managed the pond with care. Identification of tiny fish is difficult, and it's just not possible to examine each individual. It's all too easy to err and slip a few green sunfish in with those bluegills, or to scoop up some baby carp with those chubsuckers from the creek.

If you're interested in stocking the conventional farm pond fishes (largemouth bass, bluegill, redear sunfish, channel catfish, and some of the forage fishes), you may be able to get them free of charge through your local SCS office. And to find out where to buy fish stock, try the 1984 Buyer's Guide (it's available for $8.00 postpaid from Aquaculture Magazine, Dept . TMEN, P.O. Box 2329, Asheville, North Carolina 28802) . . . or write the U.S. Department of Fish Hatcheries, Dept. TMEN, Washington, D.C. 20240 and ask for its free lists of suppliers (given by state).

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