Greg, you've already forgotten more about fish than I'll ever know. If you agree they readliy take down smaller fish, why don't you simply target a forage species that remains small in size ?
p.s. Now that you got me thinking about mussels, I have an excellent lake near my pond (lake Cisco) that has a HEAVY population of mussels. I will conduct an experiment, I can easily gather a bunch, several hundred in 15-30 minutes...depending on if it's hot and I need a beer. Some that I gather will surely be dead inside, but most will be living. I will place them along my dam, and the incoming seasonal creek channels. I will let you know if they survive pond life in my parts.
