Birddog, I am not an expert but have had Rainbows for one full year now in my small excavated pond. I was originally told to wait a couple of years before I stocked anything. This allows for self colonization of insect, invertabrates, scuds etc that make up the majority of trout forage. Like most people here, I did not have the patience and stocked it immediately with 150, 5" rainbows.My pond is about 170ft x 50ft x 15ft deep when full. I fed them fairly regular through the summer and they grew to around 9-10" by iceup. I only kept a few and a Heron helped himself as well through the summer, but I did overwinter the remainder after 196 days of ice, no fish kill. This year I noticed the aquatic life has really taken off and I do expect better growth. Some of the things I learned: Winter aeration in a new pond may not be required for the first few years. Snow removal is a must. For summer I only aerated when air temps were lower than water temps, mostly at night to keep from warming the water too much. Unlike you, I have no inflow of water from anything other than surface runoff. Water temps maxed at 72f and I think aeration is what got them through that period. I would go with the hatchery recomendation and see how they progress. Every pond is different and sometimes you just have to give it a try and adjust as you go. There are many more seasoned members here that will chime in, Cecil grows huge trout year round in ponds smaller than yours. Search for posts by him and Bill Cody, lots to learn from them, many others as well. Welcome aboard. Wood.
