Mason,
I'm surprised that you can only expect 25 gpm's or so in your area. You should have a good gravel deposit right next to the river. Typically ground water yields close to rivers are quite high. You may want to get a different opinion. My state has a log of wells drilled that you can search online if you know your township, range etc. grids. It tells you yields, what the strata consists of where the wells were drilled etc.
My electric bill is about $100.00 six to seven months of the year and I pump 24/7. And the power company is inching up the rates.
Regarding the well, I talked to a well digging outfit familiar with the area. They think we could reasonable hope for about 20-25 gpm. Do you think that could cool things down in the summer in a smaller pond
When you say "smaller pond" do you mean the one you have now or a smaller pond you may build? If you make a pond small enough yes you could grow out up to 240 lbs. of trout with 20 gpm of well water. (12 lbs. per gpm)
If you are talking about the persent pond it will be close. You may want to stick to browns as they alledgedly are more tolerant to warmer water. And I would do everything suggested to keep the water as cool as possible.
BTW my subersible well pump is only 2 horsepower and it yields about 45 gpm. Like I said though if by some chance your static well level is pretty high you could save a lot on electricity with a surface drawing pump. Don't be afraid to check with more than one well driller and ask a lot of questions. You may even want to talk to your trout supplier.
