Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose SMB stocking in west central ohio

I just stocked my new pond this spring with 10 lb of FHM, 4 lb of GSH , three sizes of YP, 275 total ,25 of the biggest being almost 9-10 "(post spawn, although I did hang a few ribbons I got from the fish farm), three sizes of HBG, 275 total and 25 up to 7-8" and 8 HSB , biggest being 6-7" long and 75 small RES. I am starting to see a lot of fry around the pond, not sure of species for sure but I netted some and they appear to be FHM. I will run some minnow traps in a month or so to see if the YP survived from the ribbons and get a better idea on the minnow reproduction. I am also feeding fish every night. I also stocked 75 papershell crays last fall and will be picking up around 400 more in a few weeks on way back home from Massachusetts trip. by the way , it is really cheap to get them by driving there. only $35 per 100 . still have only seen 1 crayfish since stocking but sure they are there in concrete piles somewhere.

is it ok to add maybe 12 small SMB this fall with 6 being 3-4" and 6 being 5-7"?
also has anyone had any experience with Jones Fish SMB? I will be getting them out of FT. Wayne, IN. the lady said I could pre order now and have them in September sometime. she also said they come from Michigan.
thanks for the help

I picked up 10 5-7" SMB from them this Spring. They were on the small side of that range and the office seems to get confused a lot. I originally got my LMB, RES, BG. and CC from them delivered many years ago, and also got some larger YP and RES delivered a couple years ago for the SMB pond. They are OK, but be sure to look at what you get and be sure they actually have what you are after before making the drive. They seem to have big-company problems.

The pond could use some more predators so SMB could be added. Be sure they are big enough to avoid being eaten.

The SMB from Jones FtWayne are likely coming from Laggis Fish Farm in Gobbles MI. He raises quality SMB and sells to other small hatcheries. Often his SMB are pellet trained. Be aware the SMB will spawn and provide numerous small bass that will need to be controlled. The other option is to add more HSB so you are always in good control of your number of predators.

bill, I was wondering if they would come Laggis fish farm. I think I will stock 6 of the 3-5" and 6 of the 5-7" this fall and do the same next year. and I will also add 8-10 more HSB next spring. then I will see how the recruitment goes over next couple years.
thanks for the help guys.