Bill, thank you for that very thorough answer. I'm fairly certain there are no bass left. The fish kill was 2 years ago and I haven't seen or caught a bass since. I caught bass somewhat frequently in the first 5 years of owning the pond, but never any small ones, they were all larger. Before the kill the bass I caught were all 18"+. The water is super clear in the winter and I could see 3 big bass cruising around, a few channel cats, the bigger crappie and RES. Since the kill zero bass, zero CC, and only a few hand sized RES, small RES, and sub 5" BNCP. The crappie that were bigger before the kill were not in the best body condition, nor were the channel cats, the bass were fat but they could eat the average crappie in the pond. I think the pond may have become predator heavy and they just ate everything that was available. I'm not sure why the original owner didn't stock BG for a forage base, but I think they just bought what they thought sounded cool - I've seen it happen plenty of times on upland habitat projects many times...
I really like the idea of the SBS and HSB. I love to catch big sunfish and hybrids. The lake near me as well as the river are both stocked with HBS and they are fun to catch.
I'm 2 hours from the Jones Fish office in Louisville so I will contact them and find out if the two size classes of SBS they sell are the same age. I will probably start with 50-75 and see how they do. I can always add more, and it will be a lot easier to take a few out if I need to with the lower number. I will start a feeding program when they go into the pond. I would love to see what their potential is, and I enjoy feeding the fish.
I'm guessing I can stock the SBS this spring?
I'll probably go with just HSB for the predator, they are just fun to catch, and I know they will do the job well. Do I stock them the following spring after the SBS or in the fall to give the SBS a chance to get big enough to not be eaten. Can a 6-8" HBS eat a 3" SBS? I know they have a decent sized mouth but its not like a LMB. I just don't want my newly stock SBS to end up as expensive HSB chow.
I believe I read in one of your responses to a question on the board that it is also much easier to switch gears in the future if person decides they don't want a SBS/HSB pond in the future since there hasn't been huge amounts of reproduction going on. I like that option. I think I'll like this setup, but you can't see the future. There is a valley that has a drainage through it I could always build a pond in if I wanted something really different!
I've got several minnow traps and a couple seines so I should be able to do some sampling. I can also get access to an portable electro shocking unit so I will be able to do some sampling. I tend to get kind of data crazy on habitat projects so I am sure I'll be measuring a lot of fish.
