Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Buying Big Bass

New(ish) pond, nearly full, 2 acres, NE texas near Paris

Have well established CNBG, Redear, and some bass 8 - 14" range - Been heavy feeding the CNBG since April

Thinking about buying some 3 lb'ers to speed up the process (+/-20),

Any thoughts on this, and comments as to where you can find them?

Jeff Blankenship of A&J fisheries in Southern Illinois grows and sells large bass.

Buying 3 lb adult bass from suppliers is pretty rare
and it can be expensive.

If I remember correctly Todd Overton at Overton Fisheries
may rarely have some available or know someone that does.

I'd put in a call to Todd and ask him for advise:

Overton Fisheries - Buffalo, Texas

Bob Lusk stocked come adult LMB in a clients pond and they didn't fare so well. From what I remember, I think he said that what he thinks happened is the fish were used to catching food and living in a certain BOW, and couldn't adapt to living in a different BOW. The adults that were stocked actually lost weight.

If stocking adults, I'd make sure that they were feed trained, and make sure you have a feeding program for them in their new home.

How big are the CNBG that are in the pond now? What are your goals for the pond? How many LMB did you stock in there already?

There was a member posted not that long ago that was thinking about selling LMB he was raising. It was a thread on raising fish and going overboard/obsessive, or something like that. Was he from Georgia?

Having moved many adult LMB I can tell you they will tend to lose weight. It seems they do not adapt to a new environment very easily. I have seen fish sitting there with BG almost swimming in and out of their mouth and not feed. I move mine from other locally owned ponds and ponds I own. Best and cheapest alternative is to find someone that has to many bass in your area that would be willing to part with some.

EDIT do not forget that diseases can be moved with fish when doing this.

In ponds a hierarchy of adult LMB exists. Some take certain feeding spots and know how to survive. When you move in new adult LMB where adults exist the newcomers often don't adapt well. There can also be carrying capacity and population balance issues as a result.

Largemouth bass have found to get terribly homesick and also suffer from SAD (Separation Anxiety Disorder).

Seriously though apparently when a fish is used to a habitat for a long period of time they have a hard time adapting to a new environment.

I kinda think of it as adopting teenagers.

I bought 7 pure Florida bass in the 10" range a few years ago to replenish the gene pool that seem to be doing OK based on fishing results. what would you consider the cutoff for adult LMB? 10"? 12"? 14"? or would it be age?

Been there done that! And a troubled teenager to boot (nephew). Not easy!