Hickling's should prepare the fish well for the trip. That is their business if you tell them how far you have to go home. Try to travel them inside with air conditioning and in the shade. SMB can be as rare as hen's teeth esp in spring thus the high dollar. Smallies are a premium fish thus their quality status as a game fish. It takes a very good knowledgable fish farm to consistantly produce SMB fingerlings each year and many fail - again the reason for a higher price and lack of fish at various farms. . IMO it is MUCH better to box too few into more containers and have them arrive well compared to crowding all into one bag/box, with stress and losses.
IMO stock some now and some again this fall and again a few in 2013 to insure a good early size distribution especially since you need predators. You can always thin them out later. Remember you are 'playing catch-up'. Work at removing this year's hatch of PS. Take out everyone except for maybe 2% of the largest individuals. YOu will have plenty in next year's PS spawns.
Many here think YP are prone to overpopulation, but IMO YP are less prone to overpopulate compared to PS. Lack of seeing YP in your traps is another indication that this is true. Plus YP are a slender bodied fish (fusiform) and easy for many predators to eat as 4"-7" long individuals, not so true with PS. Plus YP will train to pellets easier than PS.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 06/19/12 11:25 AM.
