Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Stocking a new pond with RES, YP and SMB

I have my main pond stocked with several cool water species apex predators, including SMB [YP, WE, HBCP, HSB]. Also, I manage several fisheries with SMB locally, and raise them on my hobby hatchery for distribution...my point being - they are my favorite fish!

Dave's suggestion to stock 5-10/acre would follow my direction to a client in order to achieve a truly trophy SMB fishery. Appropriately sized forage should be abundant, competition low, prime feeding/ambush areas plentiful and the SMB will respond with rapid growth. I think you have a real shot of growing some 4+ females in this scenario - maybe larger.

HOWEVER - before you commit to this goal, remember that establishing the trophy SMB fishery goal also means angling rate will be low due to abundant forage and low population. If they are constantly well fed, their response to angling may not be as aggressive as you'd come to expect from SMB. It's entirely possible you will never catch all those fish, and some fish will become hook shy quickly. Changing presentations per Steve can help, but my "trophy" HSB [24"+] and SMB [17"+] will only fall for live bait or pellet fly imitations now in their 7th year. They've seen everything else and have become very wary.

Not intimating this is a deal breaker, but you may only sample some of these "trophy" SMB once or twice a season, and supplemental stocking down the road might be necessary if you want catch rates to improve. Of course, if you have recruitment from the original brood stockers, the supplemental stocking may be unnecessary. GSH are relentless on YOY SMB, however...I've seen pods of 1000 SMB fry reduced to handful in a week or two - they are very slow and visible and hang close to their nest area. SMB are also highly cannibalistic...I estimate I raise less than 1% of my SMB fry to adults annually due to starvation and cannibalism. Crazy attrition rates!

Just something to keep in mind when going the trophy route...if you are interested in more of a middle ground, I recommend to clients anywhere from 25-75/acre. High side if they are pellet trained, have little time to fish and want action when they can make the time. This advice is especially designed for the absentee land owner who may only get to fish a dozen times annually - when they are on site, they want action! Their position makes sense, too.