I just enlarged a small pond/test hole to an approximately 1/3 acre pond. I had previously bucket stocked it with a handfull of BG and small LMB. When we decided to make the pond bigger I fished out everything I could catch leaving only a few fish which were LMB. After the dig I never saw any of these fish and assumed (wrong) that they died during the dig. I recently stocked 300 HBG in the 5-7 inch range and 100 fingerling SMB. I have been feeding them by hand now for a couple weeks and today noticed what I thought was a bed in the shallows. It didn't have anything on it at the time, however as I came back later I noticed a healthy looking 10-12 inch LMB on the bed. I'm not concerned with the HBG as I assume they are too big to eat and they didn't mind swimming right up to the bass. My concern is for the SMB fingerlings. They would be a very expensive snack. I'm assuming that they are at risk of being fish food to this bass? If this is the only LMB how much damage can it do to the SMB? I tried to catch her today but the darn HBG wouldn't give my jig a chance to find it's way to the bed (that will be a good problem in the future-they sure are aggressive!)

What do you think?

I am not an expert but I don't think your SMB fingerlings would survive the lack of forage even if there is only one LMB (probably not the case). If you stocked fingerling SMB with no smaller forage like fathead minnows or golden shiners they were in for a rough start. A SMB fingerling could not possibly eat a 5-7" HBG.

Were the SMB feed trained when you stocked them? If not then they are probably not taking much of the feed you are giving them.

If the one LMB is on a bed then likely there are more. If that one LMB spawns the resulting LMB fry will eventually out compete the SMB.

Rockville, the SMB are pellet trained. They clean up what the HBG don't eat.

In my planning of a SMB pond I was told that feeding SMB will help them grow quicker but they still need natural forage. The fingerlings might be able to get by on just feed but they won't be able to eat the HBG until they are 15"+, they won't get to 15" on just feed unless you are really throwing a ton of feed out there. I could be wrong (and if I am somebody please correct me) but I think you need to get some more natural forage in there ASAP and get any LMB out as well.

If there are spawning LMB they will outcompete the SMB and prey on them.

My pond currently has no predators in it but I am getting the following forage established for a year before I stock the first predator:
-Fathead Minnows (already stocked)
-Golden Shiners (already stocked)
-Crayfish (already stocked)
-Grass Shrimp (already stocked)
-Spotfin Shiners (arrive next Friday)
-Greenfin Shiners (arrive next Friday)
-Banded Killifish (getting them from CJBS2003 whenever we can meet up )
-Bluntnose Minnows (arrive next Friday)
-Johnny Darters (arrive next Friday)
-Lake Chubsuckers (arriving in the summer)
-Red Eared Sunfish (will be stocked in June)

Next year I will be putting in 100 yellow perch finerlings along with 30 SMB fingerlings and 50-100 1-2" Red Breasted Sunfish. I will be feeding them but the feed will be icing on the cake rather than their main substinance. Maybe my pond requires all this forage for the SMB to be succesful because of the part of the country I am in but I thought it was vital in all ponds (again please correct me if I am wrong).

My bet is you have more than one LMB in your pond... If you do, whether they eat all your SMB fingerlings or not, your pond is doomed to be a LMB only pond. SMB just cannot compete with LMB in a pond environment. Try to remove every LMB you can before they successfully spawn, but in the end... You may want to cut your losses, kill off all the fish and start over if you don't want a LMB pond...

My forage for the SMB will be perch (and their offspring) stocked this fall or next spring per Laggis Fish Farm.

I will get the LMB out asap. If I can't catch it, would a well aimed .22 do the trick?

Toss a treble hook over its nest and try to snag it out before it spawns or get a mask and snorkel and make a home made spear gun and shoot it. Curtin rod, grilling fork, bungi cord and duck tape. Sneak up on it under water and blast it. Also, if you have access to a cast net, just net it out.

I have a couple LMB's in my pond that are bedding and they could easily be taken out with a well placed .22 bullet. Shooting at a downward angle shouldn't cause a ricochet and your problem will be solved.
Good luck,
Daniel

I'd go with the treble hook. Use a large one, and make sure the points are sharp. You'd be suprised at how well it will work...........

I'd use a shotgun. But then, I use a shotgun to solve a lot of problems.

Overkill - I like it.

Update: I was able to remove one of the LMB with help of my 12ga and turkey loads. However the other know LMB I was not successful in my attempts. Today I was at the pond and noticed what looked like a few hundred fry that I can only assume are LMB based on their slender shape and proximity to one of the LMB beds (the one I didn't get). I also discovered two large male BG that also were bucket stocked before the renovation that appeared to survive. They were guarding beds. Not sure if any female BG were present to lay. These two fish were brutes compared to the size when I put them in a couple years ago. So it looks like I'm well on my way to a BG and LMB pond. It will still be enjoyable no matter the fish species. I'll be curious to see how the SMB fare over the next couple years.

They did a mythbusters show on shooting into water.. A 50 caliber lost all forward travel within like inches of penetrating the surface.. So I can't see how a 22 could go more than 2" below surface with any force.. 12 gauge I can see just because of pure concussion stunning a fish but I doubt any actual holes in a fish..

I'm no ballistics expert, and 22LR don't penetrate water much, but sometimes things are not what one would think. A snow drift will stop a 22LR but an arrow will often pass right through. Speed can make a lot of difference.

I started with the 22lr - no luck. I then moved to a .410 with target loads - no luck. I was beginning to doubt by shooting skills. I figured it was time not to mess around. My heaviest load with my 12ga was buckshot, and I figured the cause and effect (my shooting the fish dead and the resulting pain in my shoulder) was a little too much, so I opted for the turkey loads. I will say that I don't believe there was any penetration in the fish, but rather the concussion killed it.