I read an article somewhere about how big bass need big forage to continue to grow and it made me concerned about a pond my family has. It recommended stocking gizzard shad annually but with no way to keep them alive for transport and not wanting to spend big money this isnt an option. Then I thought of another local fish easily caught that could be transported-Rock Bass. I know stocking them has be talked about before but maybe not for this purpose. Its easier to catch larger rock bass than bluegill but best of all they are not as wide as bluegill and are shaped more like footballs which should make them easier to swallow and they dont have as large spines as bluegill. They make an ideal large bite for a big bass. Also who ever said they fight hard in another post hasnt caught many rock bass its easy to tell when you hook one they fight like wet paper towels opening their mouths so they catch more water and maybe shaking a little when you take them out of the water they seem to be the slowest fish in the water They remind me of what I have heard about gobys. They are in short big fat easy to catch and stock bass dinners. And they live under rocks in streams so shouldnt be hard for the bass to catch them. I thought maybe 200 rockbass a summer should help my bass fatten up and if the rock bass get established more the better. Also I cant find Talapia to buy in Kentucky so thats out of the question.

Big bass eat bigger bluegills also, so what is your bluegill population like?

The rock bass might just provide one-time meals for your bass.

For reference, a LMB has to eat ten pounds of fish to put on a pound of weight.

i think redeyes would make a great pond fish....but then again i love (big) GSF......

You should check on the legality of stocking Tilapia in KY. I looked into stocking Tilapia in my pond and found out that aside from the fact that it's illegal in IL it would be a great decision. You can have Tilapia shipped to you (not sure from where) but the idea is you recieve them in the mail start a breeding tank and when the fish are large enough to avoid LMB predation stock them in the pond. be sure to keep a few breeders in the stock tank so that you don't have to re order them next year. from what I hear they eat FA and spawn like rabbits.

The down side of Tilapia is that they die off after the water gets below a certain temp (I think 52) they die. So they need to be restocked every year. You may also have to remove the dead Tilapia at the end of the year so they dont all decay at the bottom of the pond.

There are a number of good threads about tilapia on this forum. I think one is called Tilapia Project.

KYBassMan, have you looked into Golden Shiners. They get pretty big are even easier for a bass to swallow and are usually readily available.

I haven't seen any articles recommending gizzard shad for stocking into ponds. Threadfin shad are more commonly recommended. I'd be interested in reading the article about gizzard shad because I have them and have been trying to get rid of them.

If you're really looking to fast track their growth, getting feed trained LM and starting a feeding program can yield amazing results. I've been feeding Aquamax largemouth since last fall and they are really packing on the pounds.