Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Smallmouth with Rainbow trout

So I just now joined this site because I cannot find any info on stocking smallies with rainbows in newly constructed pond. I'm wanting to try something different. I'm wanting to stock baitfish this spring and hopefully smallies and rainbows this fall. Plus it will give me a chance to monitor the summer water temps which I am hopeful won't be high. I live in the mtns of VA. My pond is 1 1/4 acre. 13 feet deep near the dam and super clear. Fed year round by spring fed stream and one side is a steep Mtn side with tons of cover. The sun doesn't rise on it till after lunch. My question is has anybody had any experience with stocking smallmouth bass and rainbow trout together? If so what kind of baitfish? I'm hopeful the trout can reproduce by swimming up the stream where there is moving water and gravel. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I can not answer your question because I do not have trout and my experience with SMB started when I stocked them last December.

But I did do some reading about SMB and one of the things I read was that a person can actually have a SMB only pond, with no other fish present. The key is that SMB feed train fairly easily and so SMB in a SMB only pond can depend on commercial fish food and its own offspring for its food source.

So I guess my point is, have you considered a feeding program? Maybe that could be a key to making your goal successful?

I do not know. Just throwing out ideas.

Stocking your bait fish and smallies will not be a problem. I would watch your water temps for at least one, maybe 2 summers before adding
any rainbow. Make sure your water temps never approach 70 degrees...is it gets warm, trout will die, but smallies will be fine.

Pepperspond, welcome to the forum. I have incidental numbers of both SMB and RNBT in our pond.

I agree with what both snrub and Rainman have written, with only one exception. Out here RNBT are very inexpensive, so if they are affordable near your location, you might consider stocking them right away. Whether or not they live will tell you a lot about the water conditions, temp etc. of your pond. You will have the enjoyment of feeding them while they live.

I'm no expert, but in my experience, you prolly need to feed your trout, especially if you stock them soon and/or abundantly. They take to floating feed very well; their rises are very splashy, knocking water all over the pond surface. What else could they eat in your newly established pond? It takes some time to establish any sort of insect population. Fish food will keep them growing, maybe even keep them from starving.

Another beneficial forage for you could be crawfish. Crawfish are enjoyed by many of our pond fish. There are several threads on the forum that discuss the pros and cons of various crawfish species. There is lots to read here; there are lots of us who have crawfish and like them.

Once again, welcome. Please stick with us; post all your questions; enjoy that pond! Not many here are able to keep trout year round.

I was really hoping to not feed them. I'm planning on stocking bait fish in the next couple of weeks. Any ideas on the best kinds of bait fish for smb and rainbows? I've heard bluegill aren't the best option unless you have lmb but I'm not stocking any of those. The pond is already full of salamanders, tadpoles, frogs with some crayfish and creek minnows that were trapped. I won't be putting any smb or rainbows in until fall or maybe even next spring. And what I put in depends on how warm the pond gets this summer. It was a little over half full last summer and the one side next to the mountain stayed pretty cool so we will see.

If you want the SMB to get bigger than 10"-12" you will need one to three forage fish species. The only way with out added forage speices the SMB will grow larger than 10" is if there are no more than 8 - 10 in your 1.2ac because the pond will not produce enough food for a reproducing population of SMB to get large due to eating just bugs and invertebrates. Other forage fish options for you are in this order: fathead minnow, golden shiner, redear sunfish (RES). RES produce only a few offspring per year. RES eat snails to keep the cycle of fish parasites to a minimum in your pond.
As mentioned your fish will perform, as grow, much better if you pellet feed them. If you are not at the pond on a regular basis, see this for a lower cost DIY fish feeder.
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=486870#Post486870

I suggest that you do your very best to know what minnow species have been added from the creek. Most stream dwelling species will not spawn in your pond, but a few species native to VA will spawn in pond conditions. Know if you have them. WE can help identify those that you catch in traps from the creek. Post good close side view pictures of them and we should be able to provide help.

Here is a link to my RES and SMB pond that also has FHM. I have not had it stocked long enough to give any experience, but the thread contains links to other threads and discussion about using RES for forage for SMB. So it might give some insight about using RES for a forage fish for your SMB.

my RES and SMB pond
The first several pages are the construction phase and you might want to skip that part.

Several Nebraska forum members have successfully used the RES and SMB combination.

IMO an important success to using RES with SMB is to keep the number of SMB to a low density. Predators need to eat and the more predators present the more food that needs to be present to feed them to get them to grow. Less food always results in less growth. This basic feature applies to most all predators. Other foods can suppliment the diet of predators, but when the grow slows the first thing I would look at is reducing number of predators to match the pond's food productivity or increase forage food base.