Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Raising Forage and Bait stocking supplemental winter/summer forage fish

I was just re-reading the article from the Pond Boss Magazine titled "The ABCs of Forage Fish". Great info. I know that bluegill are the backbone of the food chain in most quality/trophy bass ponds. Assuming you have this bluegill forage base in place, Here's the question with the goal of a trophy bass lake in mind: In the Midwest/North Threadfin Shad will likely start dying in the Winter and Trout will slow down or die in the summer. Would a good idea for supplemental feeding be to stock some Threadfins in the spring and Trout in the fall? The Threadfins are prolific spawners throughout the summer and will supplement the food chain during the warm months.The bass would get quick/easy meal on the Shad in the fall and winter as they slow and die. The trout will offer a quick easy Spring/Summer meal when they get slow and start to die? Not to forget, the trout offer some great cool weather fishing. Also, is this a costly venture? I started thinking about this and comparing it to the Whitetail world of Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter food plots.

If you are trying to grow trophy bass then your supplimental stocking idea has a lot of merit. Smaller trout can be low cost per fish compared to other similar sized fish. They can have a very similar cost as the same sized catfish which are considered relatively cheap. Hauling costs can significantly increase the final cost. Consider doing your own fish hauling to save some some money depending on your schedule, your finances, and how badly you want larger bass. You do the homework.

IMO if you are interested in catching some of the trout, then buy two sizes, some for the bass and some for yourself. You should also get some advice from Lusk or a fish professional as to how many of the shad and trout to stock depending on the structure and size of your bass population. Strongly selectively thinning some bass so the predation pressure is not so great on the forage fish. This could help grow bigger bass for you with or without adding additional forage. Proper carrying capacity or standing crop is important for growing and producing a high quality fishery.

Thanks Bill. Bob Lusk is doing my initial stocking plan and my ongoing management plan, including the harvest plan. It's a new pond. We are stocking in March. I felt comfortable with the trout part of the question, but the shad part I wasn't sure about. Not sure on cost of shad, knowing you would likely have to do each year if you wanted to keep this supplemental stocking in place. In theory, it seems like a great idea to,add to the summer forage and then an easy snack in the winter for the bass, as they start to die below 40 deg. My goal is trophy bass. We are going to be pushing the limits on stocking, forage, feeding etc...
Although I am interested in this question for me, it's also a overall philosophical question for bass ponds in general.
stocking trout in fall, threadfin shad in spring. Knowing they will likely die

lastly, my particular pond is only going to have bass and bluegill as its permanent residence, other than any supplemental forage fish as asked about above.