Hi All, new to the forum. Been reading for awhile, but this is 1st post.

So, just created a new pond in CT - 1.5 acres, 12.5' deep down the middle with pretty gentle slopes from there. Several large rock piles, and I have been making/placing a good amount of artificial structure in anywhere from 3'-10' in depth. Good runoff flow and also partially spring-fed - despite the unsettled clay the water has that nice green/blue hue around the edges and it's filling quickly - it's over half full depth-wise after 2 weeks in August.

Accordingly, I'm trying to get a stocking plan together that I can begin to execute next spring once the pond is full and water has cleared.

My intent/goal is to make this a sportfish pond that we can regularly harvest fish out of in limited quantities, both for consumption and in an effort to help my predator fish grow larger by keeping their numbers down a bit.

There was an interesting article by Bob Lusk in the March-April issue where he was pushing the idea of SMB and YP for a combination of predator fish. While I would LOVE to end up with a stable YP population that achieve some size, I am not sure if that will be feasible in a 1.5 acre pond... even if it does have good depth and reasonable flow.

So, I'm at a crossroads and need some advice -- do I attempt the YP route and combine with SMB (and do my best to keep out LMB) to give them a chance, or is YP wishful thinking in a pond the size of mine and should I just do what I *know* works well up here and do LMB, harvesting some on a regular basis to keep them from overfeeding on the smaller species?

EITHER WAY, my plan would be to stock FHM and Pumpkinseeds first - early next spring once the pond has had a chance to fill and the water clears, and in time for them to spawn (or so I've heard).

Please let me know what you think, and feel free to poke holes in anything I've said above you think may not be accurate, I'm inexperienced and just trying to piece together a plan based off my reading -- so your wisdom and experience is greatly appreciated!