Originally Posted By: Quarter Acre
FLX...I think the key here is to make sure you don't get excited about a LOW cost sale and get runts. I bought my HBG (3-5")and HSB (4-6")in late april and they have done very well. Yes, they were 8 to 10 months old, but they were not runts. Smaller fish than the ones I bought would have been the results of late spawns OR runts from earlier spawns from the previous year.

Now, if you are trying to totally maximize your fishery (to the extreme), buying smaller young fish (1 inchers) in the fall makes a difference. They are young (a month old). This means you get as much of their life to influence for maximum growth. To the average pond hobbyist, like myself, a few months isn't going to matter.

Going with larger fish (3-6") in the spring helps eliminate getting runty fish. Waiting until fall for smaller fish (1-2") will allow your FHM's to do more of what they do and may even make up for stocking larger fish in the spring.

As far as stocking panfish first and the predators later versus at the same time...it depends on what your goals are. Do you want larger panfish or larger predators? The numbers of each also depends on this along with size availability at the time of stocking.


Precisely. You wouldn't want to jump and buy 2" YP or 3" SMB or WE in the Spring [these fish spawn in the Spring] - these are nearly age 1 fish and should be double/triple the size. Buying fish in the Spring is fine, I'd just verify size is appropriate so you're not helping the hatchery bail themselves out and you get to short end. BG are different as they can spawn anywhere from May-October in NE - so 2" fish in the Spring would be OK considering they were only growing for a couple months. Problem is one cannot verify they're sourcing BG a few months old [October spawn], or age 1 fish [May spawn]. That's why we always advise PB members to be careful with Spring fish sales - provided the size is right, Spring fish are fine. Just be conscientious.


Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau

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