Added a bit more structure and text to help illustrate my idea:
"Smallmouth bass in small warm-water ponds: misunderstood and maligned
Introduction: Smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) can thrive and spawn in Midwestern ponds with fairly warm water if the more commonly recommended largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) and bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) are excluded. Counter to the outdated official recommendations from some universities and government agencies, smallmouth bass do not require cold water, but rather are outcompeted by these more commonly stocked species in small warm-water ponds. Like channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)(also commonly recommended for small ponds), smallmouth bass benefit from specialized spawning structures, although smallmouth bass spawn in simple rock or masonry spawning structures, rather than the cavity spawning structures required for channel catfish.
Here we provide examples of outdated recommendations against stocking smallmouth bass in Midwestern ponds, provide updated recommendations for successful use of smallmouth bass in ponds, and document the successful stocking of smallmouth bass in small warm-water ponds.
The myth: The non-viability of establishing a thriving and spawning smallmouth-bass population in Midwestern warm-water ponds is a widespread myth that continues to be perpetuated in the stocking recommendations from respected universities and state agencies dedicated to natural resources (see Box 1 for examples). One can speculate that this myth originated from the well-established failure of smallmouth bass populations to thrive in ponds alongside other commonly stocked pond predators like largemouth bass and bluegill sunfish. In fact largemouth bass outcompete smallmouth bass for food in warm water, and blue gill populations cannot be kept in check by smallmouth predation and soon outstrip the forage that smallmouth bass depend on. This led to the erroneous assumption that smallmouth bass do poorly in small warm-water ponds, likely leading to the common assertion that smallmouth bass are a non-viable stocking option even when competing predator species like largemouth bass and bluegill sunfish are excluded.
Best Practices: --add brief recommendations on establishing a smallmouth bass pond including compatible and incompatible species (and good forage species) with citations to more in-depth publications.
Experience: --briefly recount experiences across states where folks have successfully established sustained smallmouth bass populations in small warm-water ponds.
Time to update university and government agency recommendations: --add text"
