Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose New pond -type of bass to choose

If you are not after the biggest bass you can grow, but would like to catch lots of good fighting/edible fish, I would not stock GSH. OTOH if the shear volume of fish caught is important, GSH are very catchable. Not much fight, but I used to pull in several Shiners on successive tosses of a small in-line spinner back before my GSH were depleted. It has it's own kind of fun to it.

I think Northern LMB would accomplish your goals. Perhaps F1s might be more prone to becoming hookshy? I'd get a Southern perspective(s) on that.

If you fed last year your CC should be over a pound unless you stocked them as fry. You can target them pretty selectively on stink bait, without messing up your other fish, if you'd like. CC are not particularly prone to being foul-hooked IME, so C&R is very doable with them.