Yes Gambusia, the initial stock will probably be from Mr. H's big pond although he and his family have two or three other ponds also. I usually fish his big pond because it's not near his or his son's house so I don't bother anyone. I may try fishing in the nearby creek at some point to see if I can broaden the gene pool some.
I would love to trap some very small WM if I can be sure of a good ID when they're small. I would really like to keep any Bluegill out of this little pond since Mr. H has agreed with the idea of not stocking Bass. I'm pretty sure it would soon be filled with tiny BG if they get in there. I suggested going without Bass for the same reason of stunting, and anyway, how many good sized Largemouths could live in very small pond? I've been calling this pond a 1/10 acre, but I think it's really smaller than that.
My new little pond is downstream of this pond and I'm planning on managing it the same as this one. That makes me hope even more that BG and Bass don't end up in there. So many ponds around here have stunted Bass and Brim and I hope to make a few exceptions. There are also Crappie in Mr. H's big pond and my biggest fear is that some will get into his small pond (and then mine). It sure is a shame that Specs (Crappie) don't do well in small ponds!
Mr. H said something about Redear Sunfish yesterday. What do you all think about a WM/RES pond.
Also I'm wondering if the Fatheads might survive in this pond if the Sunfish population is kept fairly light.
