What's up with the wide range of stocking opinions from fish suppliers and why does it seem so far off from the experts here?
It's time to stock my 1/4 acre pond and I am calling a few places to see what's currently available and get a feel for their over-the-phone customer service. I have highly considered a PB members (Rainman) suggestion from my previous "what to stock" thread of...
500 HBG
25-50 RES
25-40 HSB
10-20 CC
Without getting real windy here with the details of my pond's characteristics and such, I will say that I have done all my research here at PB for my stocking plans until today. I called 3 different suppliers and they wanted to suggest the typical BG, LMB, and CC. They seem to think that my hybrid plan was out of line, but "it's your pond and so on...". And, their stocking numbers were far less than what I had in mind so they weren't trying to over sell me. It was almost hard to keep them on the phone to get the rest of my questions answered once they deemed me Coo-Coo.
It was almost like they were offended that I had a plan and did not want to take their advice.
What gives?
As far as what seems like high stocking numbers to you, keep in mind when you are stocking HBG what you stock is what you get. When stocking BG you are expecting recruitment so the initial stocking is just the "jump start" of what eventually will be your fish population. With HBG you are hoping for little to no recruitment so whatever you stock is what you end up with. Minus whatever you loose from normal predators like GBH, Cormorants, etc. A flock of cormorants move in and they can thin your population pronto. Not so bad with BG because they will quickly fill the void but with HBG what you stock is what you get.
So I would not worry about what seems like a high stocking rate. You are going to loose some fish and after you feed for a while if you feel like you have too many HBG, simply start culling by taking out the poorest performers.
Also when you take the 55 gallon drums to get your fish, take some ratchet straps and strap two or three together. One thing you do not want is for a 2/3 full 55 gallon barrel to tip over because some jerk pulls out in front of you and you have to swerve or stop quickly. Strap two or three in a group and they will be much more stable.
