Smallies are expensive. If you are confident the stockers are healthy and the supplier says they will replace any that die, then is is okay to stock fewer per acre. Fewer per acre as mentioned will grow faster. Growing to larger sizes will depend on how well you manage their numbers and how well you provide all the food that they can eat as they grow larger. Larger bass do not grow real well eating mainly fathead minnows. Once SMB reproduce then there are a lot more mouths to be eating "up" the forage base. The total available forage base affects how well and how big the bass grow. IMO for stocking SMB, it is okay to stock 25-50 per acre as fingerlings. And fewer 15-25/acre when stocking juveniles (5"-8") is okay in my opinion. Stocking density is affected by how much forage base is available to the new SMB. Bass growth as a rule tends to slow way down once the bass reproduce and those young bass are now consuming the forage basis.
Quote from a wise PBoss Member " I seriously believe SMB would almost rather starve than eat BG. I removed all but a few adult BG from a grow out I'm stocking 8-12" SMB in for breeders next year and although the pond is full of small BG, the SMB were starting to look a bit thin so I dumped 45lbs of 2.5-3.5" GSH in. I've been trapping BG by the hundreds from 1" to 2.5" and am now seeing the occasional SMB and they are fat, but it isn't the BG adding that weight, I've seen way too many GSH tails in their throat."
Last edited by Bill Cody; 09/05/23 10:43 AM.
