SMB success in southern ponds such as Texas is noted in a latter post below - post dated 28/10/14 edited on 18/02/15.
Often a northern pond owner wants an alternative predator instead of the standard largemouth bass. Many people and anglers think the smallmouth bass (SMB) has to have exclusively coolwater and larger gravel bottom lakes to survive, reproduce and thrive. This is not completely true. Many regional strains of domesticated SMB in the mid-states areas of the United States (NE to NY) will tolerate warm water to occassional temperatures of the low 90's for at least short periods. Wild SMB from public waters (streams, lakes) MAY not be quite so tolerant of the higher temperatures. I have had SMB reproduce, thrive, and grow to 22" long in a 1/3 acre mud bottom pond that was only 7.5 ft deep and experienced summer water temperatures of 90+F.
Unlike the LM bass, the SMB will not do its best when combined with just bluegill(BG) as a forage fish. This combination can work under certain conditions, but often the SMB struggles to thrive and keep the BG under control. Alternative forage fishes and various invertebrates species (esp crayfish) work best to grow the bigger sized, healthiest, and best SMB. SMB can be trained to eat high protein pelleted fish food (40%/+).
It is important to note that many studies have shown that the SMB does not do very well when combined with LM bass. Usually what happens is the SMB will not reproduce very well, if at all, when co-existing in small ponds with LMB. There may also be a strong behavioral competition factor of LMB toward SMB when they co-exist. Habitat diversity is limited in ponds compared to large lakes that have diverse habitats, thus SMB have few alternative places or niches to thrive without heavy influences from LMB especially during spawning. SMB will co-exist with LMB but rarely reproduces where young are added to the community. Thus when the original SMB become older and few, due to various causes of mortalities, no young SMB are present to take the place of adults and the population gradually dies out or dissappears. If small or intermediate SMB are desired they almost always have to be occassionally supplimentally stocked. In these cases, often the existing largest LMB will eat many of the new stocked SMB unless they are over 8"-12". Bottomline it is difficult in ponds to have thriving SMB with LMB present.
THRIVING means not just surviving, but actively growing well AND reproducing to regularily introduce or recruit young individuals into the community. Here is a link to some handy nice Excel calculators for relative weights for LMB, SMB, HSB, WE(walleye), BG, BCP (blk crappie), YP (yellow perch). Plus standard weights for LMB, SMB, HSB, BG, Crappie, and CC.
http://texasprolakemanagement.com/blog/relative-weight-calculators The following links will provide some helpful ideas about growing SMB and some information about compatable forage foods. Special thanks to "ewest" for providing most of the links to previous topics.
Additions, as they become available, will be periodically made to this post - Dec 16 2007
NE OH, 2/3 ac, SMB with YP?, RES-BG? HSB co-predator, Substrates
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=15302&fpart=1SE MI, 1.5 ac, swimming, SMB-YP-RES, walleye bonus, MI fishfarms
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=98850&fpart=1SE Ontario, 21 ac, 30-40' deep, SMB, wanting more LMB
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=26321&fpart=1Central IL, 4 ac, renovated for SMB. Forage crayfish, shiners, slot harvest.
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.ph...=true#Post96183IL, 5 ac, SMB-YP-RES Homemade structure
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=16190&fpart=1http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=197409N central NY, 16' SMB, sunfsh contamination
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=25832&fpart=1Upstate NY, 1/4 ac 14ft deep, SMB YP
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=18330&fpart=1D.Willis SMB Article PBoss Mag
http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/stocking_smallmouth_bass.htmlSMB Spawn Substrate Advice
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=66693&fpart=1
