I don't know of anyone on this forum who has ever put rock bass in their pond. Likewise never seen a fish farm offer them for sale or a fish truck tote them around. I imagine you could catch locally and add to your pond. I really don't know how they would do in a pond or how they would interact or reproduce.
I DO know that they are a very polarizing fish. Everyone I know who catches one while fishing in a public body of water is either quite happy with the catch or quite disappointed. When I grew up the relative who took me fishing thought they were fine table fare, easy to filet, and worth taking home. I remember fish fries predominantly of rock bass and I didn't notice anything adverse about the event. To me they were fun to catch and were always a bit larger than the other panfish in the same area.
But I have fished with a few others who would catch one and would then unload a host of critically and sometimes harsh statements about their appearance, about their ugly and red bloodshot 'google eyes', about their disdainful heritage and their muddy flavored flesh. They couldn't seem to get them back in the water fast enough.
To me, if i had a source for them and wanted to experiment with them in my northern pond I would have no problem trying a few out. I know they will be hardy, won't be as likely to winter kill, and probably have a mouth structure and eating habit similar to a green sunfish. I have never heard of them nipping swimmers. I have no idea if they would reproduce or not.
I also have never seen a lake with an overpopulation of them, nor have I seen 'stunted' ones so they must have a varied diet and hardy constitution. So give it a try and let us know?
Last edited by canyoncreek; 09/07/22 09:13 AM.
