Hi all!
I have a 3/4 acre pond here in Ontario, Canada that has a population of Sunfish, Yellow Perch, Rock Bass, Suckers, Rainbow trout, LMB, and SMB.I know, it's a real hodge podge!

The LMB and SMB are in very limited numbers. I stocked 200 Fry about 1" long, a year ago last June. Most of them were devoured pretty quick! I also had a spawn from the resident adults this past June. Our of approx. 600 to 1000 fry, I only have a few of them left.

The water is 10 feet deep at the deepest point and is extremely clear. There is an artesian well that flows into it with 46 deg. F water, 365 days a year. The surface temp gets to about 75 deg. F in mid summer, and the depths are cooler. We snorkel in the pond all summer and I am positive there are no minnow species present. There are also very few Leopard frogs and NO leeches.

My concerns are as follows:
1) I'm afraid the predator species such as Bass and Trout won't have enough feed.
2) We occasionally feed some trout pellets by hand, but this is only a treat for the trout and panfish. The Bass won't touch them.
3) I feel I should be stocking some minnows and I could catch these from a local creek, but i am concerned about introducing another species and possible disease that they could bring.
4)The local hatcheries only have trout and are not much help with feed fish (or even pellet food for that matter!)

Sorry for all the questions, but I can't seem to locate this info on this forum in my searches. I envy those of you in the South with all of your sources and know how.The Bass don't seem to be growing as fast as I think they should. Of course, the pond is presently frozen over today!

The pond Boss Magazine is fantastic! I see there are a few pondmeisters from our area and also the northern States, so I'm hoping some of you have a few ideas for me.

Thanks,Brian