Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose where can you buy smallmouth?

Well, after ready all the great SMB info from the thread below, I am pretty convinced i want to give them a try,along with HSB. Nobody locally,in North texas, seems to have access to them. Can you have them shipped? If so, can anyone recommend a hatchery?

Bump for you Howard, anyone have an answer?

I would consider emailing Lusk himself. He would be the best resource since he's only a few miles away from you.

I sent Bob an email a few days ago, but haven't heard from him yet. If he has any connections for the SMB, I'll post them here.

i located a guy in nebraska. Bill, from Pleasant Valley Fish Farms, that will ship SMB. I will have to wit till July, however. They will be about 2 inches long, 1 dollar per fish, 50 fish minimum. That is too many fish for my pond, but i guess i can harvest some when they get a little bigger.Maybe i should order some fingerling HSB, and let them grow up together.

Doe anyone know if there are any import restrictions accross state lines for shipping fish?

Zetts Hatchery here in WV says they can ship them overnight to Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana for $45 per container. I picked up a catalog when I was there last week -- 2-3 inch SMB run $95/hundred, and 3-4 inch SMB run $2.00 each per 100. Tel 304-229-3654.

thanks cat. I'll check them out

Zetts is out of SMB. Found Hartley Fish Farm in kingman,kansas. They have 4-6 inch SMB for $5/fish,no minimum order, and about $140 for shipping 1 cooler of fish.Will hold about 25 fish. My pond is a little too new to support that size SMB right now, but i thought i would pass on the info.
the phone no. is 877-591-8238

howard, why do you think that those SMB are too big for your new pond?

You could load up on 50 or 100 lbs. of fathead minnows, and be off & running.

Sunil, I haven't really thought about doing that
Mainly, i was concerned about them wiping out my 1st BG and Tilipia spawn. Most of the pro's seem to think i should wait at least till the fall to put in predators that size, but something to think about. Hopefully some others will chime in.

It is true that you don't want to decimate your first bluegill (which are there to be your first line broodstock). I think the tilapia will grow faster so that they are large enough before any of these potential SMB can eat them, plus don't forget their winter die-off.

What size were your Bluegill when you stocked them?

the BG were 4-5 inch adults, so they would be safe from the SMB, i would guess. I think they have spawned already, or maybe it's the FH fry I'm seeing.I would think that between the upcoming Tilapia spawn, the current Bg and FH spawn, not to mention 50 more lbs. of fatheads, that 25 5 inch SMB would have plenty to eat,without decimating my BG population.What am I missing?

I think you are good to go.

In reality, those potential SMB at 4-6" will never be able to eat those current bluegill 4-5". The bluegill will quickly reach a size where they won't be "eatable" by the SMB, and the SMB's growth rate will never catch up.

Get lots of pictures if you go with the SMB from Kansas. I might have to make an order also.

The other thing that you are doing is trying SMB in a pond without maybe their best forage. We don't know if Bluegill are a stable backbone of forage for SMB yet.

You'll have the option to put in Golden Shiners at a later date also.

Sunil, the ones I stocked last year are fairing well on primarily a BG diet, they were "BG trained" before being released though. Bruce caught a 9-10" SMB last September that spit up a 1-1/2" BG next to the boat.

One thing is for sure, with BG present you shouldn't see much SMB reproduction in the pond, the BG just get too numerous and cause problems for SMB egg and fry survival.

I have had and have smallmouth that go after the small bluegills more agressively than the feed trained largemouth.

Howard I agree with Sunil that you should be good to go. You can always add a few more adult BG and some FH if you need to. GShiners would be a good addition also.

thanks fellas..

howard, did you take delivery on your smallies yet?

he is supposed to ship today..I'll let you know how it goes..

Well..it all seemed to go ok. They shipped them in this double bag filled with oxygen, in an ice chest with a little ice packet.


They were pretty sluggish in the bag, but only one floater, so that was good. This is a picture of the floater.He was smaller than the rest of them by an inch or two.


After letting the bag sit for about 10 minutes in the pond, I sloshed a little pond water in the bag, let that sit for a minute or so and released them. Some acted kind of weird. Swimming in circles at the surface of the pond for a few minutes. I had to go to work, but my wife said some of them were in the very shallows this afternoon. By the end of the day, I had one more floater , but there were no more fish in the shallows. Bill Hartley called this afternoon to make sure everything was O.K, which was good. It will be interesting to see how much delayed mortality i get with these fish.Hopefully, not more than another 10 or so. Even more interesting will be seeing how they do in my small pond,and if they can keep the CNBG in check.If they can't, i may add a few female LMB down the line....But, at this point, I am all 's

howard! That fish looks like he's about 5" long. If he was the shortest, that is awesome.

It must have been hard to peel away to go to work after letting freedom ring.

How many did you get in total?

Welcome to B.I.S.A.

i got 40 of them. I was suprised, most were about 6 inches long I guess his crop is getting pretty mature!

Howard, congrats. I received 25 SMB from Hartley yesterday as well. We apparently have related SMB swimming around now! Most were about 6 inches, with a couple a little smaller and a couple a little bigger.

They arrived, all alive, by 7:15am (early fedex), and after about 30 minutes of slowly adjusting them, they swam free with some RES and BG. One of them wasn't all to happy afterwards and I don't think he made it, but I was expecting a few morts.

Now, like you, I'm wondering how they'll do in my small pond - and out here in the desert. Time will tell and this is experimental.

I plan on adding a couple HSB and female LMB down the road as well - and we'll see how they control the CNBG and RES.

One thing I can tell you that the fathead behavior in the pond changed this morning quite a bit!

I also should add that Bill called that afternoon to check on the fish to make sure all was alright. He was great to work with and really helpful as well.

Sunil, where do I apply?

See all 63 pics on Picasa

awesome pictures Aaron!..I'm hoping that the aeration in my pond will be a difference maker for the SMB making it in this texas heat. I had another couple of morts today,though one was mostly eaten.By my blue heron, no doubt. I don't know which came 1st, the heron or the mort. I hope i didn't rush their release into the pond too much.

AaronM, you are now a full-fledged B.I.S.A. member.

Now we only have the small issue of the $1,550,000.00 initiation fee to deal with.

Odd how no B.I.S.A. member has yet to pay that fee. Perhaps it's too small of a sum for members to take seriously.