CJBS that is an extremely sound recommendation, IMO.
On top of that, manage the aquatic vegetation in these ponds and allow them to take a natural course of plankton abundance/certain degree of turbidity and stock threadfin/gizzard/tilapia and you are on the road to monsters. Blue cats don't perform well in crystal clear vegetated waters common to your area, Chad. If the ponds are already plankton abundant and/or muddy then once you get some shad started then you absolutely consider adding HSBs. Along with some good coppernose to help diversify, you'll likely grow some serious fish. The most difficult part of this plan in your area is to control aquatic vegetation. Rich soils in your area promote hard water super clear and vegetated/productive ponds. Help to direct sunlight resources to plankton instead of aquatic vegetation and you have tremendous natural production potential, even without a pelleted supplement.
Then get yourself a TFO mini-mag flyrod and a Glazener spinster and hang on tight......
I've mentioned this before, but take productive water, direct your resources, and be successful,.. by managing for baitfish with tremendous reproductive potential AND predators that DO NOT. Then you have the ability to bump up predators numbers with a regular stocking ladder
and help maintain the predator population in balance with the baitfish and growing steady. You have more control when the need for management means stocking a few predators, as opposed to harvest of predators...
Examples of predators that fit this model down south:
hybrid stripers
channel and/or blue catfish
rainbow trout (bait/sport)
Baitfish:
shad, threadfin/gizzard
tilapia
bluegill
P.S. and for small ponds possibly forget threadfins and stock shiners. this option also opens up crappie discussion for small ponds, because they also prefer a shad diet and would have a pop control with this predator regime.
