Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Midwest BC supplier?

Ok, I found a supplier about 2 hrs from here who will actually donate to me about 25 4-6" Blues so that is cool.( If I decide to go that route) I have been doing a lot of thinking and have spoken with several folks ( 3 different hatcheries, 1 private, 1 state and 1 federal) ) who raise and breed Blues and here are a few facts I did confirm.
Blues will , given enough food and water quality continue to grow as proven by several growers who had brood stock in excess of 50 lbs in tiny 4 ft deep ponds used to raise fish. They all told me that once they get to be about 10" that they do not do well on feed and once they are big enough to get live bait, will do it and would only come to pellets after being trained. several of these different places all told simmilar stories of using goldfish in the ponds to feed the bigger blues and that when it was pellet time, the goldfish would come in masses and then the blues (several of them) would push the goldfish school against the bank and hammer the goldfish like a shark. All said they were very smart fish and all said there brooders were taken from the wild. They also told me that whatever number of fish I was thinking, I should cut them down in half and go from there and should start taking them out once they get to be about 5 lbs weather I like it or not, (not a problem) as they get bigger, I should keep windling down there numbers.
Said they will not spawn/mature until they are about 15 lbs ~5 years.

All mentioned that blues will spawn in a pond as long as there is a cavity for them and success was only slightly less then CC in ponds with simmilar spawning devices. ( I will have no crator style devices, only trees, smaller rock piles and open water structures, pallets, etc.

All were concerned that with stocking Black Crappies into the pond would normally be a bad idea but felt the bigger blues and HSB,would be behind the curve ( wouldnt be big enough to eat adults for 2 years) and then for another 2 years would feast and play catchup until they turned the cycle around where they were too big and not enough forage for them. By using several varieties of panfish such as BG, RES and possibly a Hybrid BG, would and should put the blues to good use as far as a major predator since I will not have any LMB but only some HSP. This boils down to eliminating stunting of gamefish but creates a problem where the blues may eat more then they should ( when and if they get too big) and cause fewer large crappies (my goal) so I guess I am back to where I started which is I am not sure I like taking a chance with the blues when it is proven to be a better choice with CC.

That was a mouthful, until I figur eout which way to go with the cats, I am looking at getting the GS and FHM in the next 2 weeks as the ice melts. Here is another question, at what temp will the FH's and GS spawnn for the first time? I would like to get 2 spawns out of them if possible before stocking of game fish but my window to stock gamefish looks like it will be around the end of June. ( Im guessing water temps will be around 70 by then)

Keep the thought process coming...it totally confuses me.. 8^)
Salmonid