Mainahs70,
Welcome to PondBoss. Say just to be sure, is hornpout bullhead? If so ... and if you do not prefer them over trout, I think I would abstain from them. Trout are very efficient utilizing small prey and so it will help your trout a lot if don't have to compete for them. One our members, wbuffetjr, has a pond in the mountains where his trout are growing very fast on two primary prey species(Gammarus & Fathead Minnow). See his thread below ... it describes what he has done for habitat improvement for forage. It appears to be working very well.
https://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=528330I notice that Fathead Minnow (FHM) are not native to Maine but also noticed that the state hosts established reproducing populations. Also notice that their use as bait is allowed in Maine. You might check with your state to see if stocking them in your pond will be blessed. As an invasive, its a pretty weak player compared to most others. Where it might be a problem is if your watershed hosts water that is ideal for them but also hosts native species that cannot outcompete them. If your water lies within the infested water's geographic extents, you could do no harm, if your bait bucket was accidently bumped over and its contents spilled in your pond.
You must establish Gammarus. This is would be the back bone of your food chain. Another good player would be assellus aquaticus ... particularly ... if you will be getting terrestrial leave inputs into your pond. They will grow through the winter recycling these leaves.
Ideally, ALL of the forage in your pond is food for the trout even if the forage is as big as it will get as an adult. Then it is up to you to control the standing weight of trout below a threshold that would over-browse the forage. If you do this, the growth of your trout will approach the maximum potential growth which is only limited by how much they want to eat
