sunil, one of these days you'll hook up, it will surprise you so much it will pull you over the side down in the drink, you'll swim to shore all the time hanging on to yer rod, and you'll fight another 10 minutes and pull up a 30 lb catfish
brettski, i wouldnt necessarily agree that LMB dont taste as good as SMB. i've had both, and loved both. what i have noticed though is a difference in taste between any black bass species taken from cold water versus warm water though.....and prefer those taken from colder waters, of which yer pond will likely qualify.
as i ponder the duckling dinner aspects, i know for a fact (and many others here have said the same) that LMB take ducklings......however, if sufficient forage exists in the pond (i.e. lotsa BG) i am skeptical that the LMB would have a really significant impact on waterfowl reproduction given your large shallow wetland area....not trying to sway you fish wise at all, just curious (and drawing attention to ) if any thorough studies have ever been conducted on this issue.
in our case, they (the LMB) take some every spring down at the ranch pond but it doesnt seem to hurt the overall presence or population of ducks in our area. the larger factor appears to me to be coyotes and fox, perhaps coon.
