greg, you may have said this before, but approximately how old should a pond be before shad are introduced (probably threadfin up here in northern arkansas)? my pond is about 1.5 years old....bluegill that old, and the bass stocked about 1 year ago. what about tilapia... can you tell i am impatient???!! p.s. i don't suppose i could catch a few of those bass and...say....bottle feed them could I ???!!! mark williams ilovefishingmark