GTS,

The questions get harder...

How many? I have a 3.5 to 4 acre pond with HSB and LMB and all the rest. In my approach, which remember is "put and take" I stock 30 to 50 HSB (preferably 8 inches, but usually 6 inches) each spring and each fall. I probably have on the order of 100 to 150 present now.

How do they behave? Much like a salt water fish. The feed in packs on whatever is available in their preferred area. They are amazingly fast, typical of a salt water fish. At feeding time, when the timer goes off on the Stren ADF, they put on a show, but generally they are very shy, nervous. On occasions, I have observed them in shallow water looking for food. Then they are "nervous nellies" darting, turning, constantly in motion. I love them. They are beautiful to observe.

Would you stock BG along with shad? Absolutely, not only for the forage diversity, but simply for the BG themselves. Nothing I enjoy more than catching big BG on the fly rod, nothing.

Put and Take vs catch and release? Man, you do ask tough questions. \:\) I do P&T on the HSB and C&R on the LMB (with a strict rule of removal of all LMB 12 inches or less after three years). This approach has been born out of necessity for me. LMB, as I mentioned earlier to you, in a small pond (especially Florida strain) have a catchability problem as they age. I can't say, i.e. I don't know if HSB would also develop the same catchability problem; I suspect they would, but in my case they don't get the chance. I wanted "on demand" action 24/7. I get it with HSB, plus I also still have the fun of a LMB fishery, which requires lots of patience. They are complementary, in my opinion. The LMB rule the shallows and the HSB rule the deeper open areas.

There are many different ways to approach your situation. The beauty, for those who are open minded, is that we have species options which will accomodate most any set of objectives for a pond. We simply need to consider our objectives, study the options and make the best choice. Those that do not include HSB in their options, are missing out on a great fish