It would be good to hear from Deb again to see some long awaited pictures. On the stocking rate issue. Remember that as ewest suggested for HBG I stocked my pond as a put and take proposition and I stocked 1000 HBG in 1/2 acre, that's 2000 per acre. It's working fine for me. I just fished my pond this weekend to sample the population and caught 22 fish in about an hour. The weights ranged from 9 ounces to 1 lb. 2 ounces, the average weight was 15 ounces. Last Sept. the average weight for that many fish was 12 ounces. I've been eating fish on a regular basis for 3 years now and the ones in there just keep getting bigger. I know some day I'll probably have to deal with the overpopulation of F2's or F3's but I think here in the north that's going to take 10 years. Best I can tell I have F2's and F3's but very few of either. Out of exactly 200 fish that I've eaten none of them have been females. I'm hoping that by the time they overpopulate I'll have had a lot of fun with these fish. I've had enough fun already to have made it worth while. The good unbiased advice you'll get here is to decide on your goals and manage accordingly. It doesn't get any better than that.
